Eight players are left vying for glory in the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open draw at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
There are five world champions still in contention to lift the Alex Higgins Trophy on Sunday, with the remaining three players hoping to seal a maiden career ranking title.
Let’s take a look at all four Northern Ireland Open quarter-finals.
Judd Trump vs Shaun Murphy
There are a couple of humdinger ties in the last eight and one of them is undoubtedly the fixture between Judd Trump and Shaun Murphy.
The Englishmen have already crossed paths twice during the 2024/25 snooker season, with Trump emerging on top on both occasions.
Trump beat Murphy to win the Shanghai Masters crown in July before edging a 6-5 thriller in the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The 35 year-old extended his 2024 streak of having reaching the quarter-finals or better of every event he has participated in by beating Barry Hawkins 4-1 on Thursday.
Murphy, meanwhile, fought back from 3-1 behind to deny Stuart Bingham on the final black and set up a match against the reigning Northern Ireland Open champion.
The overall head-to-head record reads favourably for Trump, and the world number one has won this showdown the last five times it’s occurred.
Louis Heathcote vs Elliot Slessor
The other clash in the top half of the Northern Ireland Open draw provides a big opportunity for two unseeded players to reach the business end this week.
Elliot Slessor beat Lei Peifan in the last 16 to move to within one victory of matching his previous best run in a ranking event.
His opponent Louis Heathcote, who overcame Tian Pengfei in the last round, has never reached the semi-finals in a tournament of such status.
Both Slessor and Heathcote will be beginning to dream of the riches and opportunities that would come with landing silverware for the first time.
Not only is there a £100,000 champion’s cheque on offer in Belfast, but one of the last spots in the upcoming Champion of Champions invitational is also available for the winner this weekend.
Slessor, who generally boasts more experience and should be considered the favourite, and Heathcote have met three times in the past but never at this late stage of an event.
Neil Robertson vs Pang Junxu
Neil Robertson needed all seven frames to scrape past Graeme Dott at the start of the week, but since then he has lost only one frame while securing wins against Wang Yuchen and Oliver Lines.
The Australian won the first Home Nations tournament of the campaign when he captured the English Open in Brentwood.
Success in the Northern Ireland Open would complete the set in the series, with Robertson having also previously won the Welsh and Scottish Opens in his career.
Pang Junxu represents the Australian’s next challenge, the 24 year-old reaching the quarter-finals following a routine 4-0 defeat of Martin O’Donnell.
Pang actually beat Robertson the last time they encountered each other – securing a 5-4 victory at the 2022 European Masters.
The Melbourne man, however, is clearly feeling more confident these days after his lengthy spell in the doldrums.
Here, the world number 16 has the opening to boost his chances of safeguarding an automatic spot at the UK Championship and a ticket back to the prestigious Masters.
Mark Williams vs Kyren Wilson
The second blockbuster battle of the quarter-finals is definitely the contest between reigning world champion Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams.
The latter, Northern Ireland Open champion in 2017, reached this point with a 4-2 triumph over Ma Hailong while Wilson ended the impressive run of teenager Stan Moody.
Wilson boasts the superior head-to-head record against Williams, winning 11 of their prior 17 affairs in all competitions.
The Kettering cueist already has a trophy to his name from this season after his success in the inaugural Xi’an Grand Prix.
Williams arguably should have had silverware too but missed what was effectively championship ball in the deciding frame of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, eventually losing out on the £500,000 jackpot to Trump.
These are the kinds of near misses that Williams has expertly been able to quickly put out of his mind, and here he is challenging for honours again.
2024 Northern Ireland Open draw
Quarter-Finals (bo9)
Friday, October 25th
12pm UTC+1
Neil Robertson vs Pang Junxu
Following 12pm game
Mark Williams vs Kyren Wilson
7pm UTC+1
Judd Trump vs Shaun Murphy
Louis Heathcote vs Elliot Slessor
Click here to view the full draw
(snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
