Next up on the schedule from the 2024 UK Championship draw are the four quarter-finals, which take place on Friday at the Barbican Centre in York.
Eight players remain in the hunt for glory at the first Triple Crown event of the campaign, with £250,000 on offer for Sunday’s champion.
Seven of the remaining contenders are proven ranking event winners, with three among them representing former UK champions.
Let’s take a look at each of the quarter-finals in the 2024 UK Championship draw.
Barry Hawkins vs Shaun Murphy
Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy were involved in two out of the five second-round matches that went all the way to deciding frames.
Hawkins edged fellow Englishman David Gilbert by the narrow one-frame margin, while Murphy pipped fellow former champion Ding Junhui.
By reaching this point, Hawkins has put himself in a strong spot to gain an invitation to the prestigious Masters in January.
Only Jack Lisowski can prevent that from happening, but the Hawk’s destiny is in his own hands while he remains in the running in York.
It’s 16 years since Murphy got his hands on the UK Championship trophy, and the last time he reached the last four was all the way back in 2017.
The Magician enjoys a stronger head-to-head record over Hawkins, but they haven’t crossed paths on the main tour in almost three years.
Jack Lisowski vs Mark Allen
Is this to be the week when Jack Lisowski finally announces himself as a ranking event winner and a major champion?
The 33 year-old backed up his tremendous first-round performance against Mark Selby with another strong outing against Ali Carter.
It doesn’t get much easier with Mark Allen representing qualifier Lisowski’s next seeded challenge to overcome in the last eight.
Allen, who beat Lisowski en route to securing his own UK triumph in 2022, produced a fine finish to win the last four frames against Wu Yize on Wednesday.
The Pistol has won four out of his last five matches with Lisowski, but the latter actually boasts a superior 6-5 record overall.
Judd Trump vs Zhang Anda
Judd Trump compiled a very timely deciding-frame century break to oust John Higgins, a familiar climax to matches from this rivalry in recent years.
Trump remains the title favourite as he looks to finally add to his sole success in the tournament from 13 years ago.
In the UK Championship quarter-finals, the world number one will meet Zhang Anda who spectacularly fought his way back from 5-1 down to stun Stuart Bingham.
The 32 year-old from China beat Trump the last time they encountered each other in last season’s Scottish Open.
But their most high-profile fixture was in the 2023 English Open final a couple of months earlier, where Trump fought back from 7-3 behind to win 9-7 and deny Zhang his maiden ranking crown.
Michael Holt vs Kyren Wilson
It has been a remarkable run from the very first round of qualifying for a resurgent Michael Holt, who has won six matches to reach this far in the event.
The Hitman launched a stirring comeback from 5-2 behind to clinch a deciding-frame victory over Jak Jones on Thursday, ending the Crucible runner-up’s aspirations of a Masters appearance in the process.
Holt will next face the other World Championship finalist from this year, the man who left Sheffield in May having proudly acquired snooker’s biggest prize.
Kyren Wilson is once again getting himself into position to challenge for major honours, and he has enjoyed a comfortable time of it so far this week while losing just two frames.
The Kettering cueist possesses a 9-5 head-to-head record against Holt, who first reached the UK Championship quarter-finals 25 years ago.
2024 UK Championship draw and schedule
Round 1 (bo11)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-6 Barry Hawkins
Xiao Guodong 4-6 David Gilbert
Shaun Murphy 6-5 Zhao Xintong
Ding Junhui 6-5 Robert Milkins
Mark Selby 4-6 Jack Lisowski
Ali Carter 6-4 Ryan Day
Si Jiahui 4-6 Wu Yize
Mark Allen 6-4 Jackson Page
Judd Trump 6-3 Neil Robertson
John Higgins 6-0 He Guoqiang
Zhang Anda 6-3 Lei Peifan
Mark Williams 5-6 Stuart Bingham
Luca Brecel 5-6 Jak Jones
Gary Wilson 1-6 Michael Holt
Chris Wakelin 6-4 Matthew Selt
Kyren Wilson 6-0 Stephen Maguire
Round 2 (bo11)
Barry Hawkins 6-5 David Gilbert
Shaun Murphy 6-5 Ding Junhui
Jack Lisowski 6-4 Ali Carter
Wu Yize 4-6 Mark Allen
Judd Trump 6-5 John Higgins
Zhang Anda 6-5 Stuart Bingham
Jak Jones 5-6 Michael Holt
Chris Wakelin 2-6 Kyren Wilson
Quarter-Finals (bo11)
Times in UTC
Barry Hawkins vs Shaun Murphy
Friday, Nov. 29th – 1pm
Jack Lisowski vs Mark Allen
Friday, Nov 29th – 7pm
Judd Trump vs Zhang Anda
Friday, Nov 29th – 1pm
Michael Holt vs Kyren Wilson
Friday, Nov 29th – 7pm
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Matches will take place on Saturday, Nov 30.
Final (bo19)
The match will take place on Sunday, Dec 1.
Featured photo credit: WST
