The last 16 line-up for the Kay Suzanne Memorial Cup was confirmed on Saturday at the Capital Venue in Gloucester.
The likes of David Morris and Judd Trump already booked their place on Friday and were joined by eight further players yesterday.
World no.1 Neil Robertson was banging in more centuries as he first beat Marco Fu and then world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan en route to advancing to the fourth round.
A third round clash between Robbo and the ‘Rocket’ had been eagerly anticipated and it didn’t disappoint with big breaks aplenty as the former came out a 4-2 winner.
The Wuxi Classic champion will take on Kurt Maflin for a place in the quarter-finals after the Norwegian ended the challenges of Jimmy White, Robert Milkins and Dubliner Fergal O’Brien.
Robertson will also face stiff challenge in later rounds if he wants to reach the final with Mark Allen, winner of the fifth European Tour event in Ruhr last month, and Ali Carter still in his half of the draw.
Carter, who had been on a break recently as he manages his playing time following a scare with testicular cancer, returned well with three gritty victories and he takes on fellow Englishman Sam Baird on Sunday.
Baird enjoyed a walkover in the opening round and dropped only one frame in his subsequent two matches, recording solid victories over Andrew Higginson and Ryan Day.
Northern Ireland’s Allen defended a strong fight back from Gary Wilson in the last 32 to prevail 4-3 – in the decider he compiled an impressive match-winning 116 century break.
Allen takes on young talent Joel Walker while the final bout in this bracket will consist of Barry Pinches and Graeme Dott, who is continuing his recent resurgence in form following his run to the semi-finals of the International Championship.
So a good mix of young and old, top stars and seasoned pros, as the competition comes to a conclusion later today.
Robertson will be the clear favourite but the likes of Trump and Allen will surely be there or thereabouts as well.
Of course, in the short best of seven format there is more opportunity for the rest of the field to spring an upset, so predicting the winner is still pretty difficult.
As for Kilkenny’s Morris, his draw until the semi-finals is kind and should he reach that far, who knows, he might just go all the way.
The full draw for ET6 can be viewed by clicking here.
