UK Championship 2023 snooker AS IT HAPPENED – Shaun Murphy downed by Hossein Vafaei, Matthew Selt defeated Ali Carter

Thanks for joining our coverage of the second day of the UK Championship, we have seen two upsets this evening with Hossein Vafaei defeating Shaun Murphy 6-4 and Matthew Selt downing Ali Carter 6-3.

Murphy plays a snooker but the blue goes in to confirm Vafaei's route into the next round.

Murphy notches a couple of reds and blacks before looking for snookers.

Vafaei now 61 ahead with 51 left on the table. Surely a formality now.

Vafaei just couldn't get over the line. He is 64 ahead with 67 remaining on the table.

A poor safety from Murphy has given Vafaei a chance at the table.

Helped by an inadvertent snooker in the jaws of the top right pocket, Murphy gets over the finishing line to move himself two frames from victory.

Murphy with his best break of the match so far, a 64, puts himself on the cusp of winning the ninth frame.

Matthew Selt has beaten Ali Carter 6-3 and will face the winner of our main match in the last 16.

Eventually Vafaei composed himself, making a 78-break to move within a frame of victory.

Murphy misses a shot with the dreaded spider, then Vafaei misses an easy red and Murphy calls a foul on himself. Very eventful.

The Iranian got no luck when splitting the pack though and now Murphy has a chance at the table.

Fantastic long red gives Vafaei an early chance.

With a break of 73, Matthew Selt has gone 5-3 up on Ali Carter and is at the table with a chance of clinching the match.

An errant safety allowed Murphy to clinch the frame with a break of 42.

Murphy loses position when it looked like he was set to win the frame at that visit.

No luck for Murphy as a red goes in-off after he pots the blue.

A fine pink into the centre pocket has given Vafaei an early chance in the seventh frame.

There is a two-frame margin once more after Vafaei made a lightning break of exactly 100 for the first ton of the match.

Murphy also misses a fairly easy black and now Vafaei is back on the baize.

A fantastic long red left Vafaei back at the table at the start of the sixth frame, but he carelessly missed a fairly straightforward black.

His most impressive break of the match so far, a 54, sees Vafaei re-take the lead.

Vafaei at the table and looking like winning the frame in this visit.

Vafaei breaks off in the fifth frame.

Selt went 3-2 up but Carter has brought the scores level at 3-3 with another half-century break.

Murphy clears up to level the scores at the interval.

Vafaei has his first half-ton, but he fails to leave a tough snooker on the last red.

A brilliant red starts a break, but once more he cannot take full advantage.

Murphy cleans up to the black.

Vafaei rifled a black towards the corner pocket and it wobbled but stayed out, allowing Murphy back to the table to take the frame.

Murphy makes the biggest break of the match so far, a 60, but not enough to take the frame.

Two great reds into the middle pocket have opened up a chance for Murphy.

It is quite the contrast. Carter and Selt are locked at two-apiece at the interval with the latter making a second century in the fourth frame with a 102.

With all the balls on the right hand side of the table and neither wanted to carry on the third frame so we will start again.

Not the prettiest play, but Vafaei will be delighted with this two-frame advantage.

Murphy got position on the yellow but left it in the jaws and though he left a snooker, Vafaei potted it coming off two cushions.

Good chance for Murphy, only a tricky yellow on the baulk cushion an obstacle to the finishing line in this frame.

Vafaei is inching his way towards victory in the frame, but was forced to end his mini-break there.

A scrappy game so far, vafaei fell out of position a little leaving the ball on the side cushion and then missed the black off its spot.

A missed black off the spot has given Vafaei a good chance now.

Vafaei first at the table but did not get a generous split when he opened the pack.

Selt made the first century of the evening session managing 111.

Carter won the opener but Selt has all but secured the second and could be set for a big break.

It wiped its feet, but the green just went in for Vafaei and the ensuing brown was enough to take the opener.

Murphy pots the last red and pink from a tight angle with the rest, but snookered himself from the yellow.

A fantastic long pot gets Murphy on the board but a red on the cushion prevented him from attempting a clearance, though a missed red from Vafaei presents another opportunity.

A bad kiss ends the break, but he ends the break of 32 with a good safety shot, leaving the ball on the baulk cushion.

Vafaei flukes a red with a second connection potting it, but it does not set up an opportunity for a break.

A green missed off the spot has ended the break, though Murphy has not been left with an easy opening.

Another Murphy error has given Vafaei a chance at the table and you would expect him to accumulate a decent tally from here.

Vafaei is the first to pot a red but fails to get position nor land a safety behind the brown.

Ali Carter faces Matthew Selt, but our focus will be on Shaun Murphy against Hossein Vafaei.

Play to start in a few minutes.

We will give you more news when we have it.

In the meantime, here is Ronnie on how Luca Brecel will be feeling this season entering competitions as a world champion.

The audience are leaving after a fire alarm. hopefully everything is fine, everyone is safe and we can get back to snooker before too long.

Welcome back to our coverage of the UK Championship! After an entertaining afternoon session showcased by Luca Brecel's victory over SiJun Yuan, tonight we will see Shaun Murphy face Hossein Vafaei.

There we go. Match done. Yuan accidentally pots the blue trying to play a snooker. He then gets a double kiss trying to put the pink safe. It settles over the centre pocket. Brecel pots it and we are done. Brecel is through.

A period of safety ensues. Yuan gets Brecel tied up. But he escapes, leaving the green over the centre pocket. Yuan drops the green and tries to put the brown behind the pink but leaves it over the yellow pocket. Brecel pots the brown but leaves himself snookered. He can’t hit the blue, so it is as you were. Yuan needs two snookers.

Oh my! Yuan goes in-off. Brecel has himself a sighter to the bottom pocket. He misses it. Jaws it, in fact. But it careers across the table and into the centre pocket. Brecel sweeps up the blue and then the yellow but can’t drop the green. Yuan needs two snookers and he is back at the table.

Nope. Neither player can get into any sort of rhythm. Yuan can only make a 33 but – again – sloppy cueing allows Brecel in. He can only fashion 10 points though and we are set for a period of safety with one red left on the table.

This very much looks like a match-winning opportunity for Brecel. The reds are spread, the pink is available and Yuan looks glum. However, a lax positional shot on a rudimentary red sees the cue ball run all the way to baulk. The Belgian looks to take the green to centre but misses it. And now it is Yuan’s opportunity to craft some a frame-winning break.

A period of safety from the break-off leaves Yuan with a sighter to the bottom left. He takes it on but misses it by some distance to leave the world champion with an opener. He duly takes it and then thunders the blue ball into the centre pocket and the cue ball into the pack in an attempt to spread the reds. However, he is unlucky and runs out of position - as is his wont, he takes the red to the centre. But, as it has been this match, he missed it and leaves the cue ball in the open with a red available over the pocket. Yuan shapes it up and jaws it.

And from there the world champion - with the reds spread and the black on its spot - marched around the table to compile a frame-winning contribution of 86. After two scrappy frames, Brecel needed that. Can 'The Belgian Bullet' carry that fluency into what he hopes will be a final frame.

Brilliant from Luca, who takes first blood with a fine, long pot into the bottom-left, with Yuan having left the tightest of angles. The world champ slots in the green, and then comes back down to sweep up a loose red in the centre. The cannon off the black then opens up the bunch, albeit not as much as Luca would have liked.

One red did go in, though, and it's a stunning shot. With little to aim at, Luca just manages to cut his next red up to the middle-left pocket, and now he could really build a run...

Brecel breaks, and we're back under way in what is turning into a bit of a thriller.

All square, with that 43 clearance from Yuan doing the damage. Really, really poor play from Luca in the last two frames.

On the other table, it's also all square, with Xhang Anda and Elliot Slessor tied at 3-3.

That's a lot better from Yuan, who slots in the blue and comes back to position the cue ball nicely behind one of the remaining reds, which, after taking a breath, he cuts expertly into the far corner. The blue goes into the same pocket after that, leaving Yuan with a simple red into centre-left.

One by one, the colours follow, and Yuan is right back in this!

Another tactical tussle ensues, with both players no doubt lamenting the errors that cost them each a chance to put this frame to bed.

A bad miss from Luca on a long pot sees another great opportunity go begging for the world champ, but Yuan follows up with a similarly poor attempt. The quality has, at times, been sorely lacking from both of these players.

Luca does get the red and brown in eventually, but then misses a simple pot on his next shot.

Luca is far from pleased with his own positioning as he works his way up to the black, as he put too much on the white. The black does go in, but he leaves himself with way too much to do on a long slice into the bottom-right corner, and Yuan is back up.

No mercy from Luca, who picks off the next shot and keeps things simple - and vitally, controlled. Luca hasn't been at his very best either, it's worth noting, but this is a big chance for him to restore his two-frame lead.

It's been a cagey start from both players, but Luca makes the first slip up as he leaves Yuan with an angle on a red into the bottom-left pocket. With the bunch covering the pink spot, and the black up the table, Yuan is able to develop the reds around the pink.

Some more sloppy positioning, however, puts Yuan under pressure, and a difficult pot of the next red into the middle-left pocket goes wide. He just hasn't been careful enough in key moments, today.

On the other table, it's Xhang Anda 2-3 Elliot Slessor.

A steal from Yuan, though Luca can only have himself to blame really.

Brecel blinks first! Yuan gets in the blue, and nestles in nicely behind the pink to slot that in down the cushion. The black follows in, and Yuan is right back in this!

Shocking mistake from Luca! He leaves the brown hanging over the bottom-right corner, and Yuan lands it. However, a kiss on the pink makes it awkward, and he can only cut the blue against the cushion. Plenty of errors in this frame.

Well, Luca is lacking the sharpness he showed in the last two frames, as he leaves himself with an impossible angle on the brown. His only solution is to go for the snooker... but he doesn't get the brown behind the black.

Yuan doesn't chose to try and capitalise, and this is a one-ball frame now.

That's more like it from Luca. Yuan leaves no cover on the final red, and the world champ makes him pay with a perfectly executed double into the bottom-right corner.

The yellow drops in after that, and now Luca has an open table to play with as he looks to chip his way through the colours.

Yuan can't take immediate advantage of Luca's recklessness, but does manage to cut in a red along the bottom cushion. He then goes for the yellow, but can't get the next red off the cushion.

Luca chips in another red, but then goes for an audacious shot on the colour, which misses.

Oh dear! Another mistake, this time from Yuan, who clips the jaws of the bottom-left pocket from close range.

Miss! Luca seemed set to run away with that frame, but then a routine red goes begging. Can Yuan make his luck count?

Yuan is annoyed with himself. He sank the blue, but his positioning was lacking. That means a difficult long pot on the next red, which he nails to recover well.

But then... a miss on the brown! He's even more frustrated now.

A positive start from Yuan, who after getting the first red in, follows up by cannoning off the black to break up the bunch. He needs something in this frame, you feel.

That's a third straight frame for Luca, who is now two frames away from winning this round-of-32 tie.

It's still 2-2 in the other match between Xhang Anda and Elliot Slessor.

Yuan can't stay in it, and now Luca is back at the table and rattling through the remaining reds. The green doesn't go in, but there's no point in Yuan returning to the table, and the world champ will go further ahead.

Luca plays safe off the brown. Yuan is 46 behind with only 43 left on the table, so he needs a snooker... He doesn't get it, with both reds left close to the white, so Luca nudges it up the table to make things even trickier for his opponent.

Just the 11 for Yuan, who can't force his way into this frame, and it's back over to Luca.

Luca makes it tougher than it should have been for himself, and with a shake of the head he returns to his seat after missing the black when just shy of a half-century.

What a pot from Luca! That's stunning, as he cannons a red into the bottom left and also manages to break up the bunch. Excellent stuff from the world champ!

For the first time in this match, Bresel takes the lead.

Another error from Yuan leaves Luca with just enough room to pot a red into the bottom-left corner. The black follows, and the next red sees the Belgian build an unassailable lead in the frame, barring any snookers.

The break comes to an end when the last red clips off the jaws of the top-right pocket, but it's job done.

Foul! Luca is left frustrated after he has to cannon off the blue to try and get the white back into position. Unfortunately for the world champ, the green was in the cue ball's path, and it trickles into the top-right corner. A slice of luck for Yuan, then.

Yuan can't find the angle on a red into the bottom-left corner, though Luca too can only play a safety on his next visit.

The tactical tussle goes on for another few shots, until Luca decides he's had enough, and slams a long pot in to open up the table and get back on the front foot.

Luca just overscrews the black, bringing a promising break to a premature end. He's added on another 15 to his total, and Yuan doesn't appear to have much on.

It's Luca who strikes first with an expertly cut red into the bottom-left pocket. He's not left with much on after smashing the blue into the middle-right, though, so he plays it safe with a lead of 19.

Time to go after the interval. It's 2-2 in this race to six.

It's also 2-2 between Xhang Anda and Elliot Slessor in the other match.

Eurosport pundit Neal Foulds is enjoying this one.

"The first frame wasn't great, but in frame two it was a typical Luca Brecel break - swashbuckling shots all the way through. That's the sort of player he is, he's brilliant player to watch and it's been very entertaining."

Another ton for Luca, and we reach the interval at level pegging in this best-of-11 round one match.

Well, after that shaky start, Luca has played brilliantly in the two frames he has won, and he can consider himself extremely unfortunate not to have won frame three.

He cruises through the colours now, and finishes with a 108 after the cue ball goes in-off the pink.

Brilliant from Brecel, who like in frame two, has given Yuan no chance in this one, and the Belgian is eyeing up a second century.

A plant gets Luca up and running in frame four, as he looks to restore parity heading into the interval. Remember, it's best of 11 in this match.

Yuan is back ahead! On the other table, Xhang Anda is about to take a 2-1 lead over Elliot Slessor.

You can follow that match live on the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

Fluke! Yuan will take that all day long! He was trying to play safe, but in doing so sent the yellow in off two cushions.

He makes his good luck count, hammering in the green and neatly dropping in the brown. He follows that up with a venomous shot on the blue to wrap things up.

Well it's all about this yellow for now. There's 27 left on the table, so if Luca can draw the foul from Yuan, he can win this frame...

Another wonderful snooker from Luca, who lands the cue ball right behind the brown, with the last red at the other end of the table. Yuan takes a bit longer this time, before pulling out the rest... And this time, he makes it.

That does leave Luca with the red and black on, and now it's a colour frame.

First off, Luca gets on the board with a black and a pair of reds, which he crisply follows up with a long green.

After getting down to the last red, it's then that Luca goes for the snooker, and he has Yuan nestled right behind the pink. Yuan gets far too much pace on his first attempt, and Luca now has the free ball. This has been the case for Yuan so far - just rushing into silly errors.

This has been a really solid response from Yuan, with Luca only able to watch on as the 23-year-old piles up an excellent contribution. He has to go over the top of two reds to clip in a pot that settles the frame in his favour, only to then go and miss the next blue, but surely he's done the damage, with Luca needing three snookers.

Yuan, who hardly got out of his seat in that last frame, makes sure he's on his feet a bit longer this time.

Some awkward positioning after the blue means he is forced into a recovery on his next red, but he pulls of a nice cut into the bottom corner.

Zhang Anda 1-1 Elliot Slessor

That's more like it! The world champion rattles home the final black for a 127 total clearance. All square!

A far from conventional break, but the century is up. Brilliant from Brecel, who is back in this game!

Luca's positioning hasn't been great, as he's been forced into two greens on this break. That means, as our commentator has put it, he is rather "chasing his tail" on the cue ball.

He recovers nicely, though, sending a red finely into the top-left corner, which then opens up a nice angle on the black. That seems to calm Luca down a tad, as he develops the next couple of reds nicely, rotating his way around the black.

Now, Luca seems to have found some form, the sharpness returning as he patiently works his way through the reds - a century break is on the cards!

That's better! Luca goes aggressive, hammering the bunch open and, in the process, nailing a red into the bottom-right corner.

Zhang Anda 0-1 Elliot Slessor

Luca concedes. Very scrappy stuff so far, and it's Yuan who goes ahead.

Another dreadful miss from Luca, and he'll surely call it a day on this frame now?

Another pot from Yuan means Luca is 64 behind with just 51 remaining on the table. But this has been extraordinarily slack from both players in the last 10 minutes of this frame.

Luca needs snookers, if he's to win this frame.

Finally, Luca gets on the board, with Yuan - who has been really sloppy in the last few minutes - leaving a red hanging over the corner pocket.

Luca sinks it, and then comes back up for the black, which was in a similar position in the top corner. He doesn't leave himself with much on for the next shot, though, so he has to try and play safe.

There was a slender chance for Luca, but he had to make a long pot into the bottom-right, and he can't pull it off. Yuan plays safe on the next one, and then... Oh dear! Luca completely misses his next shot, sending the white in-off. He really doesn't look sharp so far.

Yuan then gets very lucky, however, as he flirts dangerously with the blue. Fortunately, the cue ball neither sends the blue in, nor drops in-off. But that was a lucky escape!

That's a solid break from Yuan, who builds a run of 38 to put him in complete control. Very little margin of error now for Luca.

Another mistake with the props, this time from Yuan. Now, can Luca finally build a run?

No! What a shocker. A routine red into the middle-left clips off the jaws, and with a shake of the head, the world champion returns to his seat.

Yuan gets back up for another visit, and this time regains his composure with a straight pot into the bottom-left, which he follows up with a neat cut of the black.

After the pair exchange some safety shots, the table opens up for Yuan, who nails a long pot into the bottom-right pocket. He is able to nicely develop the reds, rotating methodically around the pink until, oh no, a poor attempt on a red into the bottom-left corner.

Luca, though, can't make him pay, as he squanders a cross-table pot while using the rest.

Luca can't get going, and Yuan is swiftly back at the table. He snookers Luca, who can only concede the foul.

Yuan strikes first blood with a crisp pot into the bottom-left corner, which he follows up with the yellow.

However, his next shot goes wrong. He sinks the red, but the cue ball rolls back into the bunch, leaving no angle on the black.

Away we go!

A tad later than expected, the players are out at the York Barbican. We'll be up and running very shortly!

Luca hasn't found things easy since becoming world champion back in April, but he feels he has turned a corner now.

"It's been crazy [being world champion], just so much, you can't imagine what it's like, but also very exciting," he said. "I'm just happy to be here as world champion."

Luca has been speaking to Eurosport, declaring his love for York and the Barbican.

"Not [coming here] just as a world champion, it's a really nice venue, nice city, nice vibes. When I was 17 I got to the quarters here, so it's always good memories. I'm really happy in life, I've struggled a bit in the last few months and went a bit negative but now I'm really positive."

Brecel has had something of an indifferent season so far, reaching just one major final. However, it was only seven months ago, back in April, that the Belgian beat Mark Selby to win the world championship.

Right, so what's to come today?

There's four matches in total, with two in the afternoon and two in the evening. Ali Carter, Matthew Selt, Hossein Vafaei and Shaun Murphy are in action later, but first up it's Zhang Anda v Elliot Slessor and Luca Brecel v Yuan SiJun.

We'll be focusing on Brecel's match, but will bring you updates from Zhang v Elliot.

We'll touch on what's to come in a moment, but let's just spend a second to look back at yesterday's huge win for Ding Junhui over the reigning champion Mark Allen.

Ding was struggling with flu, but secured a dramatic 6-5 victory to send Mark packing.

Stream top snooker action, including the UK Championship, live on the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com

Welcome to our coverage of the UK Championship! We'll be bringing you all the action from York, so be sure to stay tuned throughout the day.

The UK Championship got off to a blockbuster start at York Barbican on Saturday, with a "clinical" Ding Junhui knocking out defending champion Mark Allen in the first round.

The opening match was a repeat of last year's final, which Allen won 10-7 after storming back from a 6-1 deficit.

Ding avenged this loss, despite revealing afterwards that he was feeling unwell and had considered withdrawing from the match.

He secured a dramatic 6-5 result to give Allen his first-ever opening match loss at the UK Championship.

Eurosport pundit Ronnie O'Sullivan, who starts his campaign at the UK Championship on November 28, praised Ding but admitted he was "fortunate" to win.

"If it’s not going well for him, he can look down and out," O'Sullivan said. "But then if he starts to pot a few and gets involved in the game, he gets excited about playing again. So, it seems like he needs things to go his way for him to feel like he wants to win.

"But he's such a talented player that he can get away with it. He's quite fortunate to get through today. But when he did get his chance, he was clinical. One thing to say about Ding, he is probably the most clinical player out there.

"His positional play is so good. When you play like that, it’s very hard to play bad because this game is all about positioning."

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Stream top snooker action, including the UK Championship, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com