Several heavy hitters remain in the hunt to land the £150,000 top prize with the World Open last 16 set for Thursday in Yushan.
World champion Judd Trump shifted through the gears at just the right time to overcome Liang Wenbo on Wednesday with a 5-3 victory.
The world number one set up a clash with Joe Perry by coming from 3-2 down to advance with breaks of 129, 61, and 105.
Trump is bidding for a second title in China this season and a fifth piece of silverware overall during the 2019 calendar year.
The top quarter of the draw also features Ding Junhui, the home favourite who by contrast has been struggling for top form recently.
Ding hasn’t triumphed in a ranking event since this tournament two years ago and has already dropped out of the top 16 in the world rankings this term.
The former UK and Masters champion looked better in his 5-2 defeat of Martin O’Donnell, which means he’ll take on Michael Holt next for the right to feature in the quarter-finals this week.
Ding is among a number of players remaining in the World Open last 16 who are vying for the last remaining invitation for the Champion of Champions in November.
Three out of the other four players in contention from the top half of the draw have already guaranteed their berths in Coventry next month.
Mark Selby, winner of the English Open a couple of weeks ago, is continuing his fine return to form and set up a meeting with Stuart Bingham after the pair beat Noppon Saengkham and Jimmy Robertson respectively.
John Higgins, meanwhile, will be challenged by fellow former world champion Graeme Dott.
The latter recorded arguably the standout victory of the last 32 when he thrashed Shaun Murphy 5-1.
On the other side, Mark Allen clashes with last year’s runner-up David Gilbert while Kyren Wilson faces World Cup partner Jack Lisowski in a pair of exciting looking fixtures on paper.
Gilbert memorably threw away his chance of a maiden ranking title in last year’s edition when he squandered a 9-5 advantage over Mark Williams to eventually succumb to the Welshman in a decider.
Like Gilbert, Lisowski is bidding for a first ranking success after a number of near misses in the past – including in last season’s China Open in Beijing.
Along with Ding, the only other Chinese competitor left is Zhou Yuelong in what is a disappointing return for the home competitors.
Zhou thrashed Fergal O’Brien with a whitewash win and will face Ali Carter in the next round.
The other tie is an intriguing one – an all-Thai battle between Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Sunny Akani.
Un-Nooh is on a nice winning streak at the moment following his victory in last week’s Haining Open and the talented 34 year-old could be a dark horse in Yushan.
