Snooker results: Kyren Wilson whitewashes Stephen Maguire 6-0 at UK Championship

Wilson was introduced to the Barbican Centre as current world champion and was a class apart throughout, dominating what was a largely scrappy, but one-sided affair.

Neither player actually managed a break of fifty-plus in the first four frames of the afternoon, but Wilson controlled and won them all, meaning the match was all but over at the mid-session interval.

For Maguire, it was a disappointing return for a man who won this event in 2004 and reached two more finals since.

The Scot never really settled, cutting a frustrating figure as the match went on, and upon the resumption, it was more one-way traffic, Wilson putting together a neat 71 to extend his lead further.

A break of 83 finished the job for Wilson and sets up a meeting with Chris Wakelin in the next round.

"It was a strange match," Wilson told the BBC afterwards.

"Early doors both of us were going into the pack, not really landing on a ball and having to play safe.

"For me the table was so difficult to judge. I don’t know if that was what was wrong with Stephen today.

"I felt if you were playing it slow, it was drifting to the right.

"When you have to start hitting the balls a bit harder on these tables, the pockets are just so unforgiving that it makes the game harder.

"I just had to stay composed. I felt amazing in my game, but it was not just quite clicking today."

Wakelin sees off Selt

There was a closer contest on the other table, where Chris Wakelin battled past Matthew Selt 6-4 to secure his place in the last 16.

Wakelin, the 15th seed, had been 2-0 down before making a break of 75 in the third frame, which was followed by 68 from Selt.

The match remained a tight affair, with neither player able to craft another half-century as it was locked at 4-4.

After Selt looked set in the ninth frame, a missed black to the bottom corner proved costly as Wakelin came from behind to win 65-55 – and take the lead for the first time.

Further breaks of 31 and 32 – as well as being helped by a doubled yellow – left Selt needing snookers before Wakelin eventually clipped in the brown to secure a hard-earned victory.

In the evening session, qualifier Michael Holt claimed a big win over current Scottish and Welsh Open champion Gary Wilson.

Wilson was way of the pace throughout and Holt only managed a couple of fifty-plus breaks himself in a low-quality affair.

On the other table, Welshman Jak Jones reeled off three successive frames to stun former world champion Luca Brecel 6-5.

Brecel, who has struggled for form since winning the world title in 2023, led 42-0 in the decider, but a missed red allowed Jones his chance.

And the 2024 world championship runner-up took it superbly, compiling a 66 break that left Brecel with too much to do as he moved into the last-16.