The 2024 British Open semi-finals take place on Saturday with four players still bidding for the £100,000 champion’s cheque in Cheltenham.
An exciting quarter-final day on Friday saw two matches go all the way to a deciding frame at the Centaur.
World number one Judd Trump additionally suffered defeat despite becoming only the third player in history to compile 1,000 career century breaks.
Remaining are a pair of four-time world champions, a recent world number one, and a ranked outsider making his breakthrough at this late stage of a ranking event.
Let’s take a look at both British Open semi-finals.
John Higgins vs Oliver Lines
John Higgins began this week ranked outside the world’s top 16 for the first time in 29 years, but the Scot could end it with a 32nd career ranking title in his collection.
Higgins has responded to his alleged demise with trademark tenacity in this tournament and will secure an immediate return to the elite bracket of the rankings if he reaches Sunday’s final.
The 49 year-old compiled a couple of centuries in a comfortable 5-1 outing against Elliot Slessor in the last round and will be a heavy favourite again against Oliver Lines.
The latter produced a strong finish to deny Jak Jones with a 5-4 scoreline in the quarter-finals, securing his fourth deciding-frame victory of the event so far.
That impressive result over the World Championship runner-up takes Lines through to a maiden ranking event semi-final.
The 29 year-old from Leeds, son of Peter Lines, has long been regarded as a strong talent but rarely has shown that on the bigger stages.
He will have to break new ground again if he’s to reach the final, and not helping his cause is the fact that he’s failed to beat Higgins in all four prior meetings with the Wizard of Wishaw.
Mark Allen vs Mark Selby
The battle of the Marks between Allen and Selby also represents a showdown of the two most recent British Open runners-up.
Allen was denied in the title-deciding affair by Ryan Day in 2022 with Selby outgunned by Mark Williams a year later.
The duo will look to seize the opportunity to contest another British Open final this weekend when they face each other in Cheltenham.
All four of Selby’s wins in this event have come in deciding frames, so stamina could end up playing a role when it comes to the Leicester man’s chances.
Allen has been involved in some bruising ties too but confidence will be high after his 5-3 defeat of Trump, the player who usurped him at the top of the rankings this season.
The Northern Irishman beat Selby the last two times they encountered each other in 2024, with both fixtures also ending in deciding frames.
They share an even head-to-head record, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Selby going the distance again here.
Both semi-finals will take place over the best of 11 frames.
British Open semi-finals
1pm UTC+1
John Higgins vs Oliver Lines
7pm UTC+1
Mark Allen vs Mark Selby
Click here to view the full draw (snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
