After twelve days of enthralling, engrossing action, the last four players competing for glory at the 2026 Halo World Snooker Championship are now through to what is one of the most memorable sights in sport - the hallowed one table set up in the Crucible Theatre. But, the defending champion, Ziao Xintong, will not be among the final four.
Having not been firing on all cylinders throughout the tournament, apart from the last two sessions of his second round encounter with Ding Junhui, Xintong succumbed to a 13-10 defeat by 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy, and thus becomes the twenty-first first time champion unable to successfully retain his title at the first time of asking and thus falling victim to the 'Crucible Curse'.
Xintong had begun the first session in fine style and it looked ominous for Murphy as the regining champion quickly flew into a 3-0 lead before Murphy himself took control of the session by taking five successive frames to go into the second session leading 5-3. In the second session, it was Xintong who won the session 5-3 to level the match at 8-8 going into Wednesday's concluding session. Murphy began the final session with a fine 96 break before Zhao took advantage of Murphy falling out of position to make a break of 71 to claim the second frame of the session. Murphy then went ahead at 10-9 before claiming frame 20 to lead by two at 11-9 at the mid-session interval. He then added the first frame after the interval to lead 12-9 before Xintong pulled one back. Murphy claimed the 23rd frame and victory with a break of 69 , clipping the last red into a baulk corner.
Murphy will now face four-time world champion John Higgins, who, for the second match in succession, overcame a defecit to defeat 2010 champion Neil Robertson, the most decorated overseas player in the history of the game, to claim another famous victory and a place in the semi-finals.
Trailing 5-3 and then 9-7 after the first two sessions, Higgins claimed the first two frames of the session before Robertson hit back with a break of 73 to lead 10-9, however it would be the last frame that the Australian would achieve, as Higgins then won the next four frames on the bounce, finishing with a break of 53 in the 23rd frame to get over the line and a meeting with Shaun Murphy.
The second semi-final will see Northern Ireland's Mark Allen take on the extremely talented Chinese youngster Wu Yize, who is making his first appearance at the one-table set up in the Crucible. Yize booked his place with a very impressive 13-7 win over Hossein Vafaei, who did not perform to the same standards as he had in his memorable second round victory over Judd Trump. Going into the concluding session, Yize had built a 10-6 after having won six of the eight frames in the second session. He made a break of 75 to take the first frame of the concluding session before Vafaei got one back before Wu made a wonderful break of 135 to lead 12-7. Wu missed the chance to settle the match before the interval when he missed a black off the spot and Vafaei making a break of 50 to take the match to the mid-session. Vafaei had opportunities to extend the match by winning the 21st frame but he broke down on 70 and Wu sealed his place in the semi-final with a clearance of 55.
Mark Allen and Barry Hawkins fought out what was one of the most enthralling quarter-finals seen at the Crucible, with the standard of snooker especially in the second session one of the finest ever seen in the famous theatre. Going in level at 8-8, Hawkins had the first chance in the opening frame of the concluding session on Wednesday morning but failed to pot a red to top corner when leading 1-36, before Allen eventually won a later safety exchange to take the lead and he then extended his lead to 10-8, before Hawkins hit back strongly with breaks of 70 and 83 to level the match at 10-10. In the first frame after the mid-session interval, Hawkins had first chance but again missed a red to top corner and Allen made a break of 59 to restore his advantage. Hawkins then took the next frame to level again at 11-11 before Allen made a break of 104 to lead 12-11, one away from a place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2023 when he lost 17-15 to eventual runner-up Mark Selby.
The match was decided by a horrific error commited by Hawkins in the 24th frame. After he had fluked the last red in the hopes of forcing a deciding frame, he attempted to roll up to the pink, however he left the cue ball short and therefore trapped himself in the very snooker he had intended for Allen. Hawkins hit the yellow but Allen potted it and added the balls required to secure his place in the semi-final.
ORDER OF PLAY - THURSDAY 30th APRIL 2026
SEMI-FINAL
1PM
Shaun Murphy v John Higgins
7PM
Mark Allen v Wu Yize
FRIDAY 1st MAY 2026
10AM
Shaun Murphy v John Higgins
2.30PM
Mark Allen v Wu Yize
7PM
Shaun Murphy v John Higgins
SATURDAY 2nd MAY 2026
10AM
Mark Allen v Wu Yize
2.30PM
Shaun Murphy v John Higgins - Play to Finish
7PM
Mark Allen v Wu Yize - Play to Finish
No comments:
Post a Comment