Three former English Open champions are still in the hunt for glory at the quarter-finals stage of the 2024 schedule in Brentwood.
A further three players have experience with winning a ranking event, leaving only two who are vying for a first title at this level.
Three more wins are required to land the Steve Davis Trophy and the £100,000 champion’s cheque.
Let’s take a look at each of Friday’s upcoming quarter-final matches at the English Open.
Judd Trump vs Wu Yize
Judd Trump’s incredible run of form is continuing this week, and the world number one remains on course to capture a third piece of silverware in as many months.
The reigning English Open champion hasn’t quite been at his brilliant best in this event so far but has done enough to get through the rounds unscathed.
Trump has lost just one match this season, a narrow reverse to Kyren Wilson in the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix.
Titles, however, have been won at the prestigious Shanghai Masters and the lucrative Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Riyadh.
Trump is the dominant force in the game at the moment and will represent an enormous challenge for next opponent Wu Yize to overcome.
The latter beat Ben Woollaston 4-2 on Thursday with some impressive scoring, and he’ll need all of that and more against Trump.
Mark Selby vs Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Ishpreet Singh Chadha extended his memorable run in this year’s English Open with a dramatic 4-3 triumph over He Guoqiang in the last 16.
The Indian, competing in only his second campaign as a professional, squandered a 3-0 lead but eventually prevailed in a decider to book a quarter-final spot for the first time in his short career.
Singh Chadha has conjured a lot impressive results since joining the main tour, but this is the first time he has strung several together in a row.
The 28 year-old faces a stern test next with two-time former English Open champion his obstacle in the quarter-finals.
Selby was also taken the distance in the last round before outlasting Si Jiahui in the seventh frame, compiling a break of 61 at the end.
This will mark the first time that Selby and Singh Chadha have encountered each other on the pro circuit.
Mark Allen vs Chris Wakelin
Mark Allen prevailed from a tense tussle with John Higgins that needed all seven frames to separate the pair.
Higgins compiled two century breaks – the second of which bringing his career total to the remarkable 1,000 milestone – to claw his way back from 2-0 and 3-1 behind.
But Allen dug deep to edge the deciding frame and gain a modicum of revenge for their last meeting at the World Championship when Higgins produced an outrageous clearance in another final-frame shoot out.
Allen, who began this season as the world number one but has already slipped down to number three on the two-year list, takes on Chris Wakelin for a semi-final berth.
Wakelin was the fourth player to emerge from a see-saw battle that ended 4-3 at the Brentwood Centre yesterday, the Englishman fighting back from 3-0 down to pip Pang Junxu.
Allen has beaten Wakelin in all four prior meetings when they have crossed paths.
Neil Robertson vs Barry Hawkins
Neil Robertson’s 4-1 victory over Ross Muir means that he will make back-to-back ranking event quarter-final appearances for the first time since 2022.
The Australian’s confidence has slowly but surely been rising again in recent months as he attempts to claw his way back up the world rankings list.
Robertson, the English Open champion in 2021, meets Barry Hawkins in the last eight after the Hawk ousted world champion Kyren Wilson with a 4-2 scoreline.
The duo had two notable meetings in 2024 already, with Robertson beating Hawkins at the same stage of the World Open a couple of months after a reverse outcome at the Masters.
Overall, the Melbourne man enjoys the superior head-to-head record from their 30-odd meetings with one another in all competitions.
The quarter-finals will see the format increased to the best of nine frames.
Friday’s English Open schedule
Quarter-Finals
12pm UTC+1
Judd Trump vs Wu Yize
Following the 12pm game
Mark Allen vs Chris Wakelin
7pm UTC+1
Mark Selby vs Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Neil Robertson vs Barry Hawkins
Click here to view the full draw.
Featured photo credit: WST
