There are 16 gamers left within the hunt for glory on the World Open in Yushan, together with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump.

The 2 Englishmen have dominated the 2023/24 snooker season, capturing 9 items of silverware between them since final summer season.

O’Sullivan has added the UK Championship and World Grand Prix rating titles to the invitational trophies he claimed on the Masters, Shanghai Masters, and the World Masters of Snooker.

All of Trump’s 4 successes this time period have are available rating tournaments – the Juddernaut rising triumphantly on the English, Wuhan, and Northern Eire Opens earlier than additionally touchdown the German Masters crown in Berlin.

With the pair on reverse sides of the World Open draw this week, it stays very attainable that they might be on a collision course to fulfill in Sunday’s closing.

Trump, the final winner of the World Open again in 2019, entertains David Lilley within the final 16 with O’Sullivan renewing his rivalry with Hossein Vafaei.

Vafaei is on the cusp of securing a spot on the upcoming Tour Championship however might want to overcome the Rocket for the primary time since their memorable disagreement final season.

Vafaei is provisionally in thirteenth spot within the one-year rankings that decide the Tour Championship qualifiers, with 12 heading to Manchester firstly of April.

Trump and O’Sullivan have in fact already safeguarded their spots in that prestigious occasion, with 9 gamers in whole safely into the Tour Championship draw.

Zhang Anda, Mark Allen, Gary Wilson, Mark Williams, Ding Junhui, Barry Hawkins, and Tom Ford will certainly function within the penultimate rating occasion of this marketing campaign as effectively.

Ali Carter, Mark Selby, and John Higgins are the gamers at present clinging on to the remaining qualifying positions.

Solely a selected set of outcomes would see Carter and Selby usurped, however Higgins has a considerably nervier wait with a small buffer on Vafaei in the meanwhile.

Amongst these three, latest Championship League winner Selby is the one one nonetheless in competition on the World Open with the four-time world champion in motion in opposition to Jackson Web page on Thursday.

As a result of there’s a champion’s cheque value £170,0000 on supply this week in China, each participant has a possibility to make an enormous leap up the rankings.

This might show essential on the official two-year record as effectively, because the World Open will symbolize the final occasion for many earlier than seeding positions for the World Championship are decided.

As issues stand, the likes of Vafaei, Neil Robertson, and Stephen Maguire will likely be pressured into the qualifying cubicles in Sheffield.

However successful the World Open title would see any one in all them leapfrog their manner again into the highest 16, and with it an automated berth on the Crucible Theatre.

Maguire beat world champion Luca Brecel on Wednesday and can face Barry Hawkins in spherical 4.

Robertson’s mini revival, in the meantime, will look to proceed on Thursday when he performs Chris Wakelin – a participant at present above the Australian on the official world rankings record.

Among the many others hoping to function on the latter phases and into the weekend are house favorite Ding Junhui, who meets Shaun Murphy, and Kyren Wilson, who will battle Ben Woollaston.

Elsewhere, there’s a massive alternative for both Elliot Slessor or Daniel Wells to make a deep run in a match with the duo in motion in opposition to each other within the final 16.

World Open Draw and Outcomes

Spherical of 128 (bo9)

Judd Trump 5-2 Rory Thor
Sanderson Lam 5-4 Gong Chenzhi
David Gilbert 5-0 Anton Kazakov
Fan Zhengyi 5-2 Dylan Emery
Lukas Kleckers 5-2 Jack Lisowski
Dominic Dale 5-3 Marco Fu
Stuart Carrington 5-4 Gary Wilson
David Lilley 5-3 Scott Donaldson

Jak Jones 5-3 Ryan Thomerson
Ashley Hugill 5-1 Anthony McGill
David Grace 5-2 Rebecca Kenna
Kyren Wilson 5-0 Jimmy White
Jamie Jones 5-0 Rod Lawler
Ricky Walden 5-0 Peng Yisong
Ben Woollaston 5-4 Ben Mertens
Iulian Boiko 5-1 Baipat Siripaporn

Mark Selby 5-3 Xing Zihao
Adam Duffy 5-4 Mark Davis
Si Jiahui 5-1 Stan Moody
Lengthy Zehuang 5-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
John Higgins 5-1 Ross Muir
Jackson Web page 5-3 Liam Graham
Zhou Yuelong 5-1 Jiang Jun
Wu Yize 5-2 Julien Leclercq

Matthew Stevens 5-3 Hammad Miah
Ryan Day 5-4 Andrew Higginson
Elliot Slessor 5-2 Reanne Evans
Zhang Anda 5-3 Allan Taylor
He Guoqiang 5-2 Jimmy Robertson
Matthew Selt 4-5 Wang Xinbo
Daniel Wells 5-1 Liam Highfield
Mark Allen 5-1 Andres Petrov

Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-3 Alfie Burden
Michael White 5-2 Haydon Pinhey
Lyu Haotian 5-2 Ashley Carty
Aaron Hill 5-4 Joe O’Connor
Robert Milkins 5-2 Barry Pinches
Sam Craigie 5-0 Ken Doherty
Hossein Vafaei 5-2 Liam Pullen
Graeme Dott 5-2 Ian Burns

Cao Yupeng 5-0 Rory McLeod
Noppon Saengkham 5-4 Himanshu Jain
Liu Hongyu 5-1 Jamie Clarke
Ding Junhui 5-3 Zak Surety
Sean O’Sullivan 5-1 Xiao Guodong
Joe Perry 5-4 Martin O’Donnell
Xu Si 5-0 Andrew Pagett
Shaun Murphy 5-0 Mohamed Ibrahim

Neil Robertson 5-0 Victor Sarkis
Tian Pengfei 5-1 Mink Nutcharut
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 5-3 Stuart Bingham
Yuan Sijun 5-3 Alexander Ursenbacher
Ali Carter 5-1 Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Louis Heatchote 5-0 Oliver Strains
Chris Wakelin 5-2 Andy Hicks
Jordan Brown 5-1 Lan Yuhao

Robbie Williams 5-3 Andy Lee
Tom Ford 5-2 Ma Hailong
Jenson Kendrick 5-3 Anthony Hamilton
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Steven Hallworth
Stephen Maguire 5-1 Mostafa Dorgham
Pang Junxu 5-2 James Cahill
Oliver Brown 5-4 Mark Joyce
Luca Brecel 5-1 Manasawin Phetmalaikul

Spherical of 64 (bo9)

Judd Trump 5-2 Sanderson Lam
Fan Zhengyi w/o David Gilbert
Lukas Kleckers 4-5 Dominic Dale
Stuart Carrington 4-5 David Lilley
Jak Jones 0-5 Ashley Hugill
David Grace 4-5 Kyren Wilson
Jamie Jones 4-5 Ricky Walden
Ben Woollaston w/o Iulian Boiko

Mark Selby w/o Adam Duffy
Si Jiahui 2-5 Lengthy Zehuang
John Higgins 3-5 Jackson Web page
Zhou Yuelong 1-5 Wu Yize
Matthew Stevens 5-2 Ryan Day
Elliot Slessor 5-3 Zhang Anda
He Guoqiang 5-4 Wang Xinbo
Daniel Wells 5-3 Mark Allen

Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-3 Michael White
Lyu Haotian 5-4 Aaron Hill
Robert Milkins w/o Sam Craigie
Hossein Vafaei 5-1 Graeme Dott
Cao Yupeng 5-3 Noppon Saengkham
Liu Hongyu 2-5 Ding Junhui
Sean O’Sullivan 1-5 Joe Perry
Xu Si 3-5 Shaun Murphy

Neil Robertson 5-3 Tian Pengfei
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 3-5 Yuan Sijun
Ali Carter 5-3 Louis Heathcote
Chris Wakelin 5-4 Jordan Brown
Robbie Williams 5-4 Tom Ford
Jenson Kendrick 2-5 Barry Hawkins
Stephen Maguire 5-3 Pang Junxu
Oliver Brown 2-5 Luca Brecel

Spherical of 32 (bo9)

Judd Trump 5-3 Fan Zhengyi
Dominic Dale 2-5 David Lilley
Ashley Hugill 3-5 Kyren Wilson
Ricky Walden 4-5 Ben Woollaston

Mark Selby 5-2 Lengthy Zehuang
Jackson Web page 5-3 Wu Yize
Matthew Stevens 1-5 Elliot Slessor
He Guoqiang 3-5 Daniel Wells

Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-2 Lyu Haotian
Robert Milkins 2-5 Hossein Vafaei
Cao Yupeng 1-5 Ding Junhui
Joe Perry 3-5 Shaun Murphy

Neil Robertson 5-2 Yuan Sijun
Ali Carter 1-5 Chris Wakelin
Robbie Williams 2-5 Barry Hawkins
Stephen Maguire 5-1 Luca Brecel

Spherical of 16 (bo9)

Matches to be performed on March twenty first. Instances in UTC.

Judd Trump vs David Lilley (6:30am)
Kyren Wilson vs Ben Woollaston (6:30am)

Mark Selby vs Jackson Web page (11:30am)
Elliot Slessor vs Daniel Wells (11:30am)

Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Hossein Vafaei (6:30am)
Ding Junhui vs Shaun Murphy (11:30am)

Neil Robertson vs Chris Wakelin (11:30am)
Barry Hawkins vs Stephen Maguire (6:30am)

Quarter-Finals (bo9)

Matches to be performed on March twenty second.

Trump/Lilley vs Okay. Wilson/Woollaston
Selby/Web page vs Slessor/Wells

R. O’Sullivan/Vafaei vs Ding/Murphy
N. Robertson/Wakelin vs Hawkins/Maguire

Semi-Finals (bo11)

Matches to be performed on March twenty third

TBC vs TBC
TBC vs TBC

Ultimate

Match to be performed on March twenty fourth

TBC vs TBC

Featured picture credit score: WST