York's Ashley Hugill takes positives from UK Championship exit, but victory for Leeds's Oliver Lines
Ashley Hugill insists there are plenty of positives to take from his latest UK Championship outing, after falling at the hands of 2020 World Championship runner-up Kyren Wilson.
The 26-year-old has endured a tough start to the 2020/21 season after regaining his place on the professional tour, failing to get past the first round of any tournament prior to the first Triple Crown event on the calendar.
Four-time ranking event winner Wilson showed his class with the third maximum break of his career in the sixth frame, but Hugill demonstrated his potential throughout against a player ranked 121 places above him, eventually going down 6-4.
“Going in I wasn’t thinking about winning or losing, I was just focusing on enjoying playing,” said York potter Hugill. “With the way it’s gone this season I just wanted to make sure I didn’t get in my own way.
“Even though I’ve not won today I feel it’s some sort of step in the right direction. Hopefully that can kick-start my season now and I can get to the level I know I can play at.”
Elsewhere, Leeds’s Oliver Lines produced an excellent performance to beat former Crucible semi-finalist Gary Wilson 6-4.
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