On February 25, 2022, Beijing time, the snooker European Masters ended the fourth matchday competition, and the quarterfinals were officially released. China's Fan Zhengyi and Liang Wenbo successfully advanced, Fan Zhengyi eliminated Yan Bingtao, and Liang Wenbo defeated Yuan Sijun. There are only two top 16 players in the world rankings in the quarterfinals, O'Sullivan and Anthony McGill.
In this competition, Chinese players performed well, creating at least three big cold spots. The first was Fan Zhengyi's breakout in the second round of the main tournament, where he beat karen Wilson, who was fifth in the world rankings, 5-4. In the 1/8 final, Fan Zhengyi played against Yan Bingtao, Fan Zhengyi had an unfavorable start, once 0-3 behind, but he then played a single shot of 55 points, 53 points, 55 points, 74 points, 60 points, won 5 consecutive games to complete the big reversal, 5-3 elimination of Yan Bingtao.
Fan Zhengyi single-handedly created two big cold doors, which surprised people. Second, youngster Pang Junxu completed the reversal after falling behind 2-4, eliminating title favourite Neil Robertson 5-4. Unfortunately, Pang Junxu was unable to move on, losing to David Gilbert in the quarter-finals, who shot a four-shot 60+ to advance to the quarterfinals 5-3 and compete with Fan for the final four places.
In the second half, Liang Wenbo continued his good competitive form, he doubled in one day, first swept 5-0 to Sangham, and then won 5-2 against Yuan Sijun. Against Yuan Sijun, Liang Wenbo played a single shot of 60 points, 70 points, 61 points, 76 points, 124 points, and 86 points, and the offensive state was indeed outstanding. Liang Wenbo, who advanced to the quarterfinals, will face Anthony McGill in the quarter-finals, who shot a four-shot 70+ to eliminate Kurt Maflin, who shot three-shot 100, 5-3.
Through the above competitions, we found that young players Fan Zhengyi, Pang Junxu, Yuan Sijun and others have made progress, and our veteran Liang Wenbo has also shown an enterprising spirit. Many fans said that they really should thank Zhao Xintong, whose outbreak was fierce for many Chinese players. In fact, many Chinese players also said in interviews that Zhao Xintong's outbreak is also very important to them, as if they have found a target.
In other competitions, Graeme Dort eliminated Jordan Brown 5-2, Ryan Day eliminated Songshava 5-2, O'Sullivan eliminated Ashley Hergill 5-2 and Tom Ford eliminated Patrick 5-3. The quarter-finals are played as follows: Graeme Dot vs Ryan Day, Fan Zhengyi vs David Gilbert, O'Sullivan vs Tom Ford, Liang Wenbo vs. Anthony McGill.
I hope that the two Chinese players will seize the opportunity and strive to continue to move forward, and even launch an impact on the champion!