4-1, 3-4! Snooker Night of Drama: Ding Junhui Gains Revenge, Selby Blown Away After 2-0 Lead, Two More Quarterfinal Spots Confirmed

Ding Junhui defeated tough opponent Joe O'Connor with an 80-point break, while Selby saw his 2-0 lead overturned by Wilson. With scores of 4-1 and 3-4, the same quarterfinal barrier produced two completely different stories on this English Open third-round night.

First, Ding Junhui's match. In the opening frame, O'Connor left a long-pot opportunity after the break, and Ding immediately converted the red to start scoring. He built a winning advantage with a 59 break around the black, then added points through safety play to win 86-0. The second frame was more complicated. After getting in, Ding missed a simple black, allowing O'Connor to respond with a 61 break. After another missed red in the middle pocket and further fluctuations from Ding, O'Connor cleared the table with a 49 break to level the match at 1-1.

A struggling Ding Junhui in the past might have been affected after being pegged back and made more mistakes. But he stayed composed this time. In the third frame, he strengthened his safety play, and after several exchanges O'Connor left a chance while escaping a safety. Ding took control with a 51 break to regain the lead. In the fourth frame, he attacked immediately after potting a long red, producing a smooth 80-point clearance to move 3-1 ahead. In the fifth frame, O'Connor became visibly impatient and made frequent attacking errors. Ding capitalized, controlled the situation in safety exchanges, and closed out the match 69-7.

After winning three frames in a row, Ding Junhui completed a 4-1 victory. It was the first time in his career that he defeated Joe O'Connor, ending a two-match losing streak against him, and it was also his first ranking-event quarterfinal appearance this season. Statistics showed Ding's long-pot success rate was 71%, compared with O'Connor's 46%, and the 50+ break count was 3-1. With breaks of 59, 51 and 80, Ding held a clear advantage in accuracy. His previously criticized safety and tactical battling also stood up well, with several high-quality snooker shots preventing his opponent from creating too many chaotic situations.

Ding Junhui's statistics sheet from the match was impressive overall. He will face Kyren Wilson in the next round. The pair have met 18 times previously, with Ding winning eight and losing ten, slightly behind, but the gap is small and short-format matches can be highly unpredictable.

On the other table, Selby started in outstanding form. In the first frame, he showed his trademark control, restricting Wilson with safety play. After several exchanges, Wilson made an escape error and gifted a chance, which Selby converted with a 39 break to win 57-31. In the second frame, Selby's touch improved further. After a long pot, he built his score continuously and produced a 112 break, coming close to a 147 maximum. However, he missed the final tight-to-the-cushion red, but still won the frame comfortably to lead 2-0.

Selby is known for his strong match control and consistency in the later stages of games. With a 2-0 advantage, he appeared to have a major edge. Before this match, the two had met 28 times, with Selby winning 20 and losing 8; in traditional-format matches, Selby had won all four previous encounters.

The match then changed dramatically. Wilson made a long pot in the third frame and scored 62 to pull one back. In the fourth frame, he found an even better rhythm, taking advantage of Selby's defensive mistake and clearing with an 84 break to make it 2-2. The fifth frame was full of drama. Selby scored 60 and looked set to reach match point, but missed a crucial blue. Wilson seized the chance, gradually reduced the deficit, and completed a 61-60 clearance to win his third frame in a row and move ahead 3-2.

In the sixth frame, Selby steadied himself and used a Wilson attacking error to make a 64 break and force a deciding frame. The decider featured a long safety battle. Wilson eventually got in with a long pot and scored 52 before his break ended. At the key moment, he successfully potted a tricky yellow to go beyond the required score. Selby's attempts to recover by laying snookers failed, and Wilson won 4-3 to keep the four-time world champion out of the quarterfinals.

This victory was Wilson's first win over Selby in a traditional-format match and marked a breakthrough in their rivalry. Selby's exit has made the title race much more open. Among the world's top five players, Zhao Xintong and Robertson exited in the first round, while Selby and Wu Yize both stopped in the last 16. The only remaining player from that group in the draw is Trump, who recently lost his world No. 1 ranking.

For the Chinese players, Zhou Yuelong also reached the quarterfinals after overturning Yuan Sijun 4-2 in an all-Chinese matchup. He made a 141 break in the fourth frame, setting a new highest break record of the event previously held by Yuan. Wu Yize suffered a surprise 1-4 defeat to 20-year-old Welsh deaf player Liam Davies, who won three straight frames from the start and suppressed the performance of the newly crowned world champion.

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Ding Junhui will face Kyren Wilson in the quarterfinals, while Zhou Yuelong's opponent will be Ali Carter. Two quarterfinal places have been confirmed, Selby is out, and Ding Junhui has progressed. The remaining matches are expected to provide more excitement.