On October 8, 2023, the Snooker England Open continued to be intense. In the semi-finals, China's Zhang Anda led young player Liu Hongyu 5-1 in a domestic matchup, while also winning four match points. Prior to this, in the quarterfinals, Zhang Anda defeated Ronnie O'Sullivan, a seven-time world champion nicknamed "Rocket", 4-2.
The 2023 Snooker England Open is the fifth tournament of the season, and the players include Chinese players such as Zhang Anda, ranked 55th in the world, young player Liu Hongyu, and "China's first brother" Ding Junhui. After fierce competition, Zhang Anda and Liu Hongyu successfully reached the semifinals. It is worth mentioning that Zhang Anda narrowly defeated teammate Zhou Yuelong 5-4 in the 1/4 finals and advanced to the semifinals. Zhou Yuelong faced Ben Wollaston in the qualifying round and won 4-2.
In the first game of the game, Zhou Yuelong started a little weakly, allowing Wollaston to score 68 points with a single stroke and easily take the lead 98-5, with a score of 1-0. However, in the second game, Zhou Yuelong responded strongly, scoring 50 points with a single stroke to equalize the score at 68-18 and chase the game score to 1-1. In the next third game, Zhou Yuelong and Wollaston fell into a stalemate, but after many hands, Zhou Yuelong won again 62-57 and took the lead 2-1. In the fourth game, the two players were still deadlocked, and Wollaston won 72-61 to tie the score at 2-2 again. In the fifth game, Zhou Yuelong won 80-55, leading 3-2 and getting the match point. In the sixth game, Wollaston had no chance of turning the tables, and Zhou Yuelong sealed the victory with 66-8, winning 4-2 on aggregate and successfully entering the main match.
In the following games, Zhou Yuelong defeated Andrew Kingson, Ali Carter and other players in a row and successfully advanced to the quarterfinals. However, in the quarterfinals, he lost 4-5 to Zhang Anda. Zhang Anda's outstanding performance also allowed him to face the teenager Liu Hongyu in the semi-finals, and after six rounds of fierce battles, he won 5-1 and won four match points.