Ronnie O’Sullivan admits that Stephen Maguire is ‘bang in form’ but is tipping Ding Junhui to beat him in the UK Championship final on Sunday.
The pair meet in the first Triple Crown final of the season over a best of 19 frames and both will be full of confidence after dominant semi-final victories on Saturday.
Ding saw off compatriot Yan Bingtao 6-2 but it was Maguire who stole the show with a 6-0 hammering of Mark Allen in the evening session.
The Rocket was thoroughly impressed with the Scot, but he is still leaning towards the Chinese star to lift the trophy, after Ding knocked O’Sullivan out in the last 16 of the competition.
O’Sullivan said of Maguire: ‘He’s got a fantastic record at the UK Championship and always seems to play well here. Beating Mark Allen 6-0, a tough match player, shows he’s bang in form.
‘Picking a winner? I think Ding will win this one today.’
Jimmy White was less convinced of the winner, predicting a long match whichever way it goes, although also had high praise for Maguire.
‘If you’ve got to beat Mark Allen you’ve got to play the odd safety shot but he never and they all went in, it looked fantastic.
‘I can’t pick a winner, I think it’s going to go 10-8 10-9 either way.’
Ding might be the bookmakers’ favourite, but the pundits were showering his opponent with praise for his phenomenal win over Allen.
Alan McManus added: ‘Unbelievable performance last night. The UK Championship became a ranking event in 1984 and since then there’s only been one other whitewash in a semi-final, when Neil Robertson did for Mark Selby 6-0 four years ago, and that shows what a performance it was.’
Ding and Maguire contest the final over two sessions on Sunday with the winner leaving the Barbican Centre with £200,000 and the loser having to settle with £80,000.
MORE: Ronnie O’Sullivan questions Ding Junhui’s ‘heart and grit’ ahead of UK Championship final
