Starting at 17:00 Beijing time on May 1, the semi-finals of the 23/24 World Snooker Championship will come to an end. Judging from the previous stage of the game, O'Sullivan and Gilbert are in danger, and there is a great possibility of being eliminated.
Trump
In the first period at 17:00 today, the first semi-final spot will be decided between No. 3 seed Judd Trump and Welsh's Jack Jones. The two sides have played each other 5 times before, with Xiaote holding the upper hand with 4 wins and 1 loss. In the first two rounds, Trump won 10-5 Wafay and 13-7 Tom Forde, and the wins were relatively easy. And Jack Jones 10-4 Zhang Anda in the first round and 13-9 Si Jiahui in the second round became the big dark horse again after reaching the quarterfinals in Crucible's debut last year. Trump and Jack Jones played 4-4 in the first two stages, 4-4 in the first stage, and 4-4 again in the second stage, and they have been evenly matched, and even Trump is catching up. In particular, Xiaote's offensive firepower is lacking, and he only hit one shot to break 100 and two shots to 50+. It is optimistic that Jack Jones will continue to play steadily in the third stage, eliminating Trump to become the first player to advance to the semifinals.
Gilbert
In the second period of the event at 21:00 today, England's David Gilbert and Scotland's Stephen Maguire will face the third stage of the competition. The two sides have met seven times before, with Maguire holding the upper hand with 5 wins and 2 losses, but it has been mostly short-game matches. In this tournament, Gilbert played very well, upsetting the previous champion Brecel 10-9 in the first round and Robert Milkins 13-4 in the second round. In the semi-finals with Stephen Maguire, the first stage had a clear 7-1 lead, and the second stage was 3-5 by Maguire to recover two games. In the first two stages, Gilbert was full of offensive firepower, hitting a total of three shots to break 100, three shots of 50+, leading Maguire with a total score of 10-6, due to the obvious lead, it was not easy for Maguire to turn the tables in the third stage, and David Gilbert was not in much suspense to advance to the semifinals.
Higgins
The third quarter-final will be between No. 12 seed K. Wilson and No. 13 seed John Higgins. The two sides can be described as "old rivals": since 2015, a total of 25 meetings have been met, and the "Witcher" has the upper hand 19-6. This game is also the fourth time that the two have met at the World Championships - in the quarterfinals of the 2017 World Championships, Higgins won 13-6, in the semifinals of the 2018 World Championships, the "Wizard" won 17-13, and in the second round of the 2023 World Championships, Higgins still advanced with a score of 13-2. In the first stage of the competition between the two sides, Kyren Wilson broke 100 with 1 shot and 4 strokes of 50+, and Higgins broke 100 with 2 strokes and 1 shot of 50+, and Kyren Wilson led Higgins 5-3. The second and third phases of the two sides will be held at 17:00 and 02:00 tomorrow morning, respectively. With Higgins failing to establish an advantage in the first stage, he will also be at a disadvantage in terms of fitness and energy, and is favored for Kyren Wilson to advance to the Final Four.
O'sullivan
The final quarter-final was between two world champions, Ronnie O'Sullivan and Bingham. Since the 2003 Irish Masters, the two sides have played each other 22 times, with the "Rocket" holding an 18-4 advantage, and the two sides have met three times in the World Championships - in the first round in 2009, O'Sullivan won 10-5, in the 2013 quarter-finals, the "Rocket" advanced with a score of 13-4, and in the 2015 quarter-finals, Bingham won 13-9. In the first stage of the two sides, O'Sullivan hit 1 shot to break 100 and 2 strokes to 50+, and Bingham scored 4 shots to 50+. The two sides were tied 4-4. The second and third phases of the two sides will be held at 21:00 and 02:00 tomorrow morning, respectively. What is unfavorable for the Rockets is that the two phases continue to continue, which is a bit of a bullying of the old man, but O'Sullivan, who aims to win the eight-time championship, will overcome the adverse effects, kill the killer in the second stage, establish an advantage, and advance to the semifinals.