On February 24, 2023, Beijing time, the snooker players' championship continued, and the second 1/4 final broke out, and world No. 10 Luca Brecel lost two consecutive games with a 5-4 lead, losing 5-6 to Joe O'Connor and missing the semifinals. Then, world champion Sean Murphy came on, and he hit a four-shot break to break a hundred to crush Ryan Day 6-0 and advance to the semifinals.
This season, the likes of O'Sullivan, Higgins, Trump and Neil Robertson have been in mediocre form, and it is surprising that they have failed to win the ranking stage. In this case, the professional snooker arena presents a more open competitive landscape, with Robert Milkins, Ali Carter, Gary Wilson and others all winning ranking tournaments. It should be said that today's snooker is in a dogfight situation, and most of the victory and defeat depend on the on-the-spot performance.
In this players' tournament, 75 three Jay O'Sullivan, Higgins, Mark Williams were absent, defending champion Neil Robertson also failed to get a chance to play, Trump and Mark Selby all suffered a round, and the eight finals were star-studded. The first quarter-final was played between Ali Carter and Robert Milkins, who played well to advance to the semifinals by knocking out Robert Milkins 6-1 and advancing to the semifinals against Joe O'Connor.
Joe O'Connor, who has improved significantly this season, shot 125 and 57 from 4-5 down to defeat Luca Brecel 6-5 to advance to the semi-finals. 90s star Luca Brecel shot a five-under 50+, he held the lead for most of the time and took the first match point, only to miss the opportunity in the final minute. This situation is good for Ding Junhui, in the single-season ranking list, Luca Brecel slowly approached Ding Junhui, as he missed the final four, after this tournament will definitely not be able to surpass Ding Junhui, Ding Junhui temporarily held the top eight of the season.
Of course, Ding Junhui's first-round exit caused him to be very passive, and Shaun Murphy, who reached the final four, overtook Ding Junhui in the single-season rankings. Shaun Murphy showed good competitive form, facing the strong Ryan Day, Shaun Murphy shot consecutive one-shot 104, 107, 105 points, and immediately led 3-0. In the fourth inning, Sean Murphy shot a one-shot 85, and he won the fifth inning in the scuffle to win the match point directly 5-0. In the sixth game, Sean Murphy continued his efforts, crushing Ryan Day with a single 133 to win 6-0, hitting four to break a hundred in one game, Shaun Murphy was too strong.
This victory not only allowed Sean Murphy to reach the final four, he also overtook Ding Junhui in the single-season ranking list to 6th, and Ding Junhui fell to 7th. In addition, there are two pursuers behind Ding Junhui, that is, Gary Wilson, who reached the quarterfinals, and Joe O'Connor, who advanced to the semifinals first, but they are still some distance away from Ding Junhui, and if they want to surpass Ding Junhui, they must at least reach the final.
So far, three places have been decided in the Final Four for Joe O'Connor, Ali Carter, Sean Murphy, Joe O'Connor will face Ali Carter in the semifinals, Sean Murphy against the winner between Kyren Wilson and Gary Wilson, and the final 1/4 final will be played on the following matchday, good luck to these players!