On November 7th, Beijing time, the Snooker International Championship continued, and all the top 8 players were determined after the completion of the 1/8 matches on the previous match day. Three Chinese players, Ding Junhui, Xiao Guodong, and Xu Si, made it into the top 8, while the top 16 ranked players in the world occupied four spots. This season's double champion, Kyren Wilson, and Ding Junhui became the favorites to win the championship. Below is a summary of the event and the matchups for today's quarterfinals.
The International Championship is a high-level ranking event held in China and is part of the WST World Snooker Tour. Including this year, it has been held in China for nine editions, during which seven champions have emerged. Judd Trump and Mark Selby each won the championship twice, tying for the most wins. Ricky Walden, Higgins, Mark Allen, China's number one player Ding Junhui, and Zhang Anda are among the five who have lifted the championship trophy. Additionally, Zhang Anda won last year and is the defending champion this year. The prize money for this year's competition remains the same as last year, with the champion receiving £175,000, the runner-up £75,000, and a total prize pool of £825,000. The competition uses an 11-frame 6-win format before the semi-finals, a 17-frame 9-win format for the semi-finals, and a 19-frame 10-win format for the final, making it second only to the three major events in terms of prestige and a cornerstone of snooker events.
This year's International Championship is being held in Nanjing, China, with an eight-day competition period from November 3rd to November 10th. The organizers provided four wild cards plus 25 professional players, with a total of 29 Chinese players participating. All of the top 16 players in the world also joined the competition, making the level of competition very fierce. After the qualifying round, 14 Chinese players advanced to the main event, including higher-ranked players such as Ding Junhui, Zhang Anda, Xiao Guodong, and Si Jiahui. After two rounds of the main event, six players, including Ding Junhui, Xiao Guodong, Jiang Jun, Pang Junxu, Lyu Haotian, and Xu Si, advanced to the top 16. Top 16 players such as Kyren Wilson, Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Higgins, Mark Williams, and Gary Wilson also advanced smoothly.
In the previous match day, all the top 16 players competed for the top 8 spots, with mixed results for the six Chinese players. Only Ding Junhui, Xiao Guodong, and Xu Si advanced, while three of the top 16 players, Kyren Wilson, Higgins, and Gary Wilson, also made it through. Let's take a look at the detailed match results.
In the top 8 battle, young player Xu Si faced the world's number one, Judd Trump, without fear and showed high-quality play, contributing a century break and five 60+ breaks to defeat Trump 6-4 in a big upset. Top 16 player Kyren Wilson played aggressively, blasting three century breaks and three 60+ breaks to eliminate veteran Barry Hawkins 6-2. Higgins faced Chinese player Lyu Haotian, with the score tied at 4-5 and Lyu Haotian taking the match point first. However, Lyu Haotian made a mistake when hitting the super-point ball in the 10th frame, allowing Higgins to save the match and win two consecutive frames to achieve a 6-5 comeback. Gary Wilson faced Mark Selby, which was expected to be a close match, but Mark Selby's poor form allowed Gary Wilson to win 6-3 with four 50+ breaks and one century break.
The other two players who advanced to the top 8 were Chris Wakelin and Jackson Page. Chris Wakelin defeated Mark Williams 6-4, while Jackson Page beat Chinese player Pang Junxu 6-4. Below are the matchups for the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinal Matchups:
(14:30 PM)
Xiao Guodong vs. Jackson Page
Higgins vs. Chris Wakelin
(19:30 PM)
Xu Si vs. Gary Wilson
Ding Junhui vs. Kyren Wilson
Currently, the player in the best form among those who have advanced to the top 8 is Kyren Wilson. Since winning the World Championship last season, he has become the first player of the 90s generation, with the aura of a world champion enhancing his performance. This season, he has already won the Xi'an Grand Prix and the Northern Ireland Open. In this International Championship, he has shown stable single-frame scoring ability and seized opportunities to win with a single shot. With Judd Trump, who won two championships and two runners-up this season, eliminated, Kyren Wilson has become the top favorite to win the championship, followed by Ding Junhui. Although Ding Junhui's performance in other events this season has been average, his form has significantly improved in this International Championship, with extremely stable offense and defense, and a high success rate in long shots. His excellent overall level and home advantage also make him one of the favorites to win the championship. The two will face each other in the quarterfinals, and we look forward to seeing who will come out on top. We also hope that the other two Chinese players, Xiao Guodong and Xu Si, can perform at their best and strive to keep the championship at home. Good luck!