English Open: Ding Junhui and Zhou Yuelong Reach Quarterfinals

On September 10, the last-16 matches of the Snooker English Open were held. Chinese players Ding Junhui and Zhou Yuelong defeated their respective opponents to advance to the quarterfinals.

Ding Junhui performed strongly in his match against Joe O'Connor. After the first two frames were tied, Ding won three consecutive frames to defeat his opponent 4-1 and reach the quarterfinals.

“I played quite clearly today, and my handling in both offense and defense was relatively ideal,” Ding Junhui said after the match. “Even when there were defensive mistakes, I did not give my opponent too many chances. I was relatively lucky, I guess.”

Chinese player Ding Junhui during the match. Image source: the event's official media account.

In the quarterfinals, Ding Junhui will face Kyren Wilson, who eliminated Mark Selby 4-3 in the last-16 round. Looking ahead to the match against Wilson, Ding said he needs to maintain solid defense while being more decisive in attack, making full use of his technical ability and “putting pressure on his opponent.”

Zhou Yuelong trailed 1-2 at one point before winning three consecutive frames to defeat fellow Chinese player Yuan Sijun 4-2 and advance to the quarterfinals. So far in this tournament, Zhou has won three consecutive frames after falling behind in all three of his matches, completing comebacks. After the match against Yuan, he discussed the reason behind his repeated recoveries.

“I have been slow to start in this English Open, with many early mistakes. I think at the beginning of matches my eyes have difficulty adapting to the venue lighting, and my judgment of the cut angles has always been off. Many shots seem fine to me, but I make mistakes after striking the cue ball. I need one or two frames, or even three, to adapt to the lighting and make adjustments. After adjusting, the simple mistakes are reduced.”

Zhou Yuelong's next opponent will be Ali Carter. Carter defeated Chinese player Gong Chenzhi 4-2 on September 10.

World champion Wu Yize struggled on the day and lost 1-4 to Liam Davies. Another Chinese player Pang Junxu went the distance with Shaun Murphy for seven frames and narrowly lost 3-4. In the quarterfinals, Davies will face veteran Mark Williams, while Murphy will take on Judd Trump.