ASHLEY HUGILL could well be hitting peak form at just the right time.

Less than six weeks before the 2017 UK Championship gets under way in his home city of York, hot shot Hugill gears up for arguably his biggest match of the year so far as he takes on world number 41 Robert Milkins tomorrow in the Dafabet English Open second round at the Barnsley Metrodome.

It follows his success over veteran former World Championship finalist Nigel Bond in the first round yesterday, which pocketed him his biggest pay cheque yet on the professional circuit of £2,500.

Hugill, who turned 23 last month, shot to snooker prominence in 2005 when he toppled former world champion Neil Robertson in the German Masters in 2015.

But he only graduated from Q-School last summer at his fourth attempt, winning six matches to earn a two-year card on the pro World Snooker tour.

He has also endured a harsh baptism with several first-round exits.

However, that losing run came to end yesterday with that 4-2 victory over Bond, and he will buoyed therefore ahead of tomorrow's test against "The Milkman" Milkins, who himself was a surprise 4-0 first-round winner over world number 20 Stephen Maguire.

Another success will boost his confidence further ahead of the UK Championship at the Barbican, which begins on November 28.

Hugill, who lives in Melbourne near Pocklington, is under pressure to earn enough ranking points to retain his status as a fully-fledged pro.

But he handled that well against Derbyshire veteran Bond.

After solid snooker saw the Yorkshireman go 3-0 up, the 2012 World Seniors champion, now 51, and famed down the years for his fighting qualities, pulled back to 3-2.

Hugill, having missed a chance to win 4-0 while on a 40 break in the fourth frame, admitted "getting a bit edgy" but he held his nerve with a 50 break in the sixth to get over the line.