Eight gamers proceed to chase the £500,000 prime prize with the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters quarter-finals scheduled for Thursday in Riyadh.
The lineup contains 4 opponents from the highest 16 on the earth rankings and 4 who’ve reached this level from the sooner phases of the competitors.
Let’s take a short have a look at every match.
Jimmy Robertson vs Mark Williams
By reaching the quarter-finals, Jimmy Robertson has already assured himself £50,000 in prize cash, which isn’t far off the cheque he acquired for touchdown his sole rating title on the European Masters in 2018.
Robertson is ranked outdoors the world’s prime 50 however that’s set to vary, and his run this week principally safeguards his standing as knowledgeable for an additional two seasons.
The 38 year-old orchestrated a formidable 6-4 victory over world champion Kyren Wilson within the final 16 and can subsequent tackle Mark Williams.
Williams, who narrowly averted an early exit within the earlier spherical when he pipped Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in a decider, booked his quarter-final spot with a 6-2 conquer Stuart Bingham.
The Welshman will undoubtedly be the favorite to succeed in the semi-finals as he continues his quest to win a twenty seventh profession rating crown.
Williams boasts a dominant head-to-head document in opposition to Robertson, successful 11 of their 12 general conferences, though that sole defeat did come the final time they crossed paths in a event.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Si Jiahui
Ronnie O’Sullivan’s presence within the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters is arguably saving the occasion from embarrassing optics.
Crowd numbers on the Inexperienced Halls have typically been terrible, however there was a good quantity in to look at the Rocket battle again from 3-0 behind to disclaim Zhang Anda in a decider on Wednesday.
O’Sullivan will meet a 3rd Chinese language opponent of the week within the quarter-finals when he takes on Si Jiahui.
The latter additionally prevailed from a 6-5 thriller, edging countryman Pang Junxu having trailed 3-0 in the beginning as properly.
If Si have been to succeed in the semi-finals, he would leapfrog his approach into the highest 16 of the world rankings for the primary time.
The 22 year-old has encountered O’Sullivan solely as soon as earlier than, shedding to the seven-time world champion on the English Open final season.
Judd Trump vs Neil Robertson
Undoubtedly the tie of the quarter-final spherical pits world primary Judd Trump in opposition to outdated rival Neil Robertson.
Robertson has seemed fairly sturdy this week as he makes an attempt to conjure some kind and reverse the rankings plummet from the final two seasons.
A 6-1 defeat of Gary Wilson during which he made breaks of 141 and 95 helped to substantiate his earlier win in opposition to Mark Selby.
Overcoming Trump can be the most important signal but that Robertson is properly and really on his approach again.
The Englishman equally gained 6-1 within the sixth spherical, comfortably beating shut pal Jack Lisowski with the help of a hat-trick of tons.
Lots of Trump and Robertson’s earlier showdowns have been scoring frenzies, so it wouldn’t be a shock to see the massive breaks flowing once more this time.
Trump enjoys a barely superior head-to-head document and would be the favorite right here given the pair’s respective latest kind.
Shaun Murphy vs Xiao Guodong
It has been sturdy begin to the 2024/25 season for Shaun Murphy, who beat Elliot Slessor 6-3 to succeed in the final eight in Riyadh.
Murphy, who was pipped to Shanghai Masters glory by Judd Trump in July, will subsequent face Xiao Guodong within the Saudi Arabia Masters.
Xiao shall be happy together with his opening to the brand new marketing campaign too, backing up his run to the final 32 in Xi’an with a good higher week this time round.
The 35 year-old emerged from a prolonged 6-5 tussle with Scott Donaldson on Wednesday, ending off the competition in model with a tidy break of 123.
Xiao and Murphy have confronted one another solely 4 occasions over time, and Xiao has gained two of these clashes – albeit over quick distances.
The quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters shall be performed underneath the best-of-11 frames format.
Wednesday’s Outcomes (Rd 6)
Kyren Wilson 4-6 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Williams 6-2 Stuart Bingham
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-5 Zhang Anda
Si Jiahui 6-5 Pang Junxu
Judd Trump 6-1 Jack Lisowski
Gary Wilson 1-6 Neil Robertson
Shaun Murphy 6-3 Elliot Slessor
Scott Donaldson 5-6 Xiao Guodong
Thursday’s Matches (QF)
12pm UTC+1
Judd Trump vs Neil Robertson
Shaun Murphy vs Xiao Guodong
6pm UTC+1
Jimmy Robertson vs Mark Williams
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Si Jiahui
Click on right here to view the complete draw, together with up to date outcomes.
Featured photograph credit score: WST
