China News Agency, Beijing, February 18th. The quarter-finals of the Welsh Snooker Open in 2023 will be an upset again. Chinese players advanced to the semi-finals of a ranking tournament for the first time in their careers.
The Welsh Open ended on the morning of the 18th Beijing time in the quarter-finals (9 rounds, 5 wins), and the 3 Chinese players who entered the top 8 had 2 wins and 1 loss. Among them, the “post-80s” Tian Pengfei, ranked 49th in the world, swept the world’s No. 1 “Rocket” O’Sullivan 5:0, breaking another big upset in this event.
Although in the 1/16 finals and 1/8 finals, Tian Pengfei beat two top 16 players, Ali Carter and Higgins, but facing O’Sullivan, who is firmly at the top of the world rankings, Tian Pengfei is not optimistic. In the last three encounters between the two, O’Sullivan was the winning side.
But this time they met again, the situation on the field was completely reversed. O’Sullivan, who has replaced the tip of the club, seems to have also replaced his previous good feel, and the level of competition has been greatly reduced. Tian Pengfei maintained the good state of consecutive upsets in the first two rounds, scored 4 strokes of 50+, and finally scored 5:0 and advanced to the top 4, setting a new record for his career in the ranking competition.
Tian Pengfei said after the game: “It is my dream to defeat O’Sullivan. This is the most important victory in my career.” O’Sullivan said that Tian Pengfei, who played better in this campaign, deserved to win the game. Every mistake he made was punished by him.”
In the event of the day, Pang Junxu, ranked 51st in the world, challenged the 39th-ranked England star Joe O’Connor. In this campaign, the Chinese teenager has always taken the initiative in the first 6 rounds, leading by 2:0, 3:1, and 4:2 respectively. But O’Connor scored consecutively in the next two rounds, chasing the score to a 4:4 tie. In the 9th inning, Pang Junxu seized the last chance to kill his opponent with a single stroke, and advanced to the top 4 of the ranking competition for the first time in his career.
Another Chinese “post-00” teenager, Yuan Sijun, was defeated by 0:5 when he challenged Sean Murphy, who was ranked 11th in the world, and stopped in the top 8. In the other 1/4 finals, the British veteran Milkins defeated the world No. 3 Mark Allen 5:1, making this Welsh Open top 4 without a world top 10 player. Murphy Be the only TOP16 player.
The semi-finals of the Welsh Snooker Open in 2023 will be held between Tian Pengfei and Milkins, Pang Junxu and Murphy. Whether the two Chinese players can meet in the finals has become the biggest suspense and highlight of the semi-finals. (over)Return to Sohu to see more
Editor:
Disclaimer: The opinions of this article represent only the author himself. Sohu is an information release platform, and Sohu only provides information storage space services.
