Adam Williams presents his prediction for the UK Championship qualifying match.
Ben Woollaston
This season cannot be called successful for Ben Woollaston and Joe Perry. Woollaston is 30th in the season rankings, and his best achievements are reaching the last 32 of the Saudi Arabia Masters and the third round of the English Open. Despite victories over Mark Williams and Gary Wilson, Woollaston lost to Alexander Ursenbacher, Stan Moody, and Julien Leclercq, with the latter defeat being particularly disappointing as he lost 5-4 after leading 4-0. Ben has not had any significant achievements in recent years, and his victories remain local.
Joe Perry
Joe Perry's situation is even worse. Perry is ranked 86th in the season rankings and has not progressed past the first-round stage even once this season. Joe has only secured five victories, defeating Mink Nutcharut, Huang Jiahao, Jimmy White, Jonas Luz, and Hatem Yassen. A win against a female player, a senior, and three players from the bottom of the rankings is quite an underwhelming achievement. Even in these matches against weaker opponents, Perry managed just a few breaks.
Ben Woollaston vs Joe Perry Prediction
This season, Woollaston and Perry have already met at the tournament in Riyadh, where Ben confidently won 4-0. We have not observed any serious changes in their games since September, so we will predict that Ben Woollaston will confidently beat Joe Perry with a score of 6-3 or more. Joe is already 50 years old and is close to losing his professional status if he finishes below 64 at the end of the season. As of now, everything seems to be heading in that direction.
