A frenetic schedule on Friday will see the last 16 in the inaugural Turkish Masters be reduced to the final four.
The remaining contenders will have to negotiate two hurdles in what will surely be an exhausting day at the Nirvana Cosmopolitan Hotel.
Only three members from the current top 16 in the world rankings are left in with a shot of glory this weekend.
Judd Trump remains the bookies favourite, but the Champion of Champions only just scraped past Liang Wenbo in the last round.
Trump, a runner-up in last week’s Welsh Open, looked to be heading for an early exit but rallied with a late four-frame burst to win 5-4.
Indeed, there were several encounters on day four of the competition that either went the distance or were very close.
Trump’s opponent in the last 16 will be Zhou Yuelong, who similarly needed all nine frames to negotiate the challenge of Luca Brecel.
In the same quarter of the draw is Ali Carter, who prolonged his mini resurgence of late with a deciding-frame defeat of Matthew Stevens in what was a high-quality affair.
Carter meets Sam Craigie after the latter boasted one of the few one-sided victories of Thursday’s play, beating Yuan Sijun 5-2.
Elsewhere in the bottom half, Shaun Murphy and Yan Bingtao are the two other high profile names in the section.
Yan next encounters Oliver Lines, who secured a massive last-32 triumph over Andrew Higginson in what was a game with significant tour survival ramifications.
Murphy will face Jak Jones hoping to embark on a run to the last eight of a ranking event for only the second time this season.
Meanwhile, the busy Turkish Masters schedule for Friday will begin with the clashes from the top half of the draw in Antalya.
Ding Junhui orchestrated a second successive come-from-behind victory when he outlasted Kyren Wilson with the aid of two tons.
The former world number one, who has plummeted to no.32 on the official rankings, takes on amateur sensation Si Jiahui for a quarter-finals berth.
An all-Scottish battle sees John Higgins play Graeme Dott with the former hoping to bolster his position as a probable qualifier for the lucrative eight-player Tour Championship.
Former ranking event winners Martin Gould, Matthew Selt, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh are also in the top half of the Turkish Masters draw.
Gould takes on China’s Lu Ning while Un-Nooh will attempt to boost his tour survival aspirations when he duels with Selt.
Turkish Masters Draw and Schedule
Last 16 (Times in GMT) Lu Ning vs Martin Gould (8am) Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Matthew Selt (8am) John Higgins vs Graeme Dott (8am) Si Jiahui vs Ding Junhui (8am) Oliver Lines vs Yan Bingtao (12:30pm) Jak Jones vs Shaun Murphy (12:30pm) Ali Carter vs Sam Craigie (12:30pm) Zhou Yuelong vs Judd Trump (12:30pm) The quarter-finals follow at 5pm GMT.
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Featured photo credit: WST
