The Wuhan Open semi-finals take place on Saturday at the Wuhan Sports Gymnasium in China.
The fifth ranking tournament of the 2023/24 campaign is nearing its climax with just four contenders left vying for the title.
A huge champion’s cheque of £140,000 is to be awarded to the Wuhan Open champion in what is the inaugural staging of the event.
So who comprises the final four?
Wu Yize vs Judd Trump
Saturday, 12:30pm BST
Judd Trump may have been forced to arrive late following his triumph at the English Open last Sunday in Brentwood.
But the 34 year-old has breezed through the rounds, reaching the Wuhan Open semi-finals courtesy of four lightning-quick victories and just four frames lost.
Trump thrashed Tom Ford 5-0 in Friday’s quarter-finals to move one hurdle shy of a third ranking final appearance of this term already.
The world number four will be a heavy favourite to do just that as he prepares to take on Wu Yize in the last four.
Wu, who turns 20 on semi-final Saturday, embarked on a maiden run to the final four of a ranking event with a 5-4 defeat of Aaron Hill.
The latter led 3-1 and 4-3, but late breaks of 67 and a magnificent 104 in the decider saw the Chinese teenager snatch an impressive victory instead.
Trump and Wu have clashed on one previous occasion, at the WST Classic in March when the Englishman prevailed with a 4-1 scoreline.
Having played so much snooker over the course of the last couple of weeks, stamina may still become a factor for Trump.
But the 24-time ranking event winner is riding a wave of confidence at the moment that shows few signs of letting up.
Ali Carter vs Lyu Haotian
Saturday, 7:30am BST
Lyu Haotian orchestrated a stunning 5-1 victory to knock Ronnie O’Sullivan out at the last-eight stage.
O’Sullivan had chances but made too many unforced errors, with his Chinese opponent capitalising each time.
The triumph takes Lyu, a former Indian Open runner-up, through to a first ranking event semi-final since 2020.
O’Sullivan may have lost, meanwhile, but his status as the world number one will stay safe for another week at least.
Mark Allen’s 5-2 defeat to Ali Carter ensures that he and the chasing pack won’t be able to usurp the Rocket in Wuhan.
Carter has been a consistent performer on the circuit this year, highlighted by his own rise back up the ranking list.
On the cusp of rejoining the top ten, the Captain is now just two wins away from capturing a sixth career ranking crown.
Lyu and Carter have encountered each other four times in all competitions, with parity between them and two wins apiece.
Both matches in the Wuhan Open semi-finals will be live on Eurosport and discovery+ across Europe, and on Matchroom.Live in all other areas except China.
2023 WUHAN OPEN DRAW
Round of 128 (bo9)
(held over fixtures)
Xing Zihao w/o Luca Brecel
Daniel Womersley 3-5 Gong Chenzhi
Si Jiahui 5-2 Wang Xinzhong
Ali Carter 5-2 Bai Yulu
Anthony Hamilton 5-0 Wang Xinbo
Zhou Yuelong 5-2 Baipat Siripaporn
Ding Junhui 5-3 Ashley Hugill
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-1 Ken Doherty
Round of 64 (bo9)
Xing Zihao 5-4 Michael White
Stephen Maguire 5-2 Joe O’Connor
Ryan Day 5-4 Jackson Page
Marco Fu 3-5 Wu Yize
Ben Woollaston 1-5 Aaron Hill
Martin O’Donnell 5-1 John Higgins
Jordan Brown 3-5 Gong Chenzhi
Elliot Slessor 2-5 He Guoqiang
Mark Selby 4-5 Xu Si
Rod Lawler 2-5 Xiao Guodong
Robert Milkins 5-4 Hammad Miah
Tom Ford 5-1 Cao Yupeng
Jamie Jones 5-4 Ian Burns
Sanderson Lam 2-5 Barry Hawkins
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 2-5 Matthew Selt
Oliver Lines 2-5 Judd Trump
Mark Allen 5-4 Mark Joyce
Si Jiahui 5-4 Jak Jones
Jack Lisowski 5-3 Scott Donaldson
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 2-5 Sam Craigie
Daniel Wells 1-5 Stuart Bingham
Jamie Clarke 1-5 Ali Carter
Anthony Hamilton 0-5 Zhou Yuelong
Liam Highfield 5-3 Neil Robertson
Ben Mertens 5-1 Dominic Dale
Chris Wakelin 2-5 Lyu Haotian
Zhang Anda w/o Mark Williams
Noppon Saengkham w/o Graeme Dott
Alfie Burden 3-5 Ashley Carty
Yuan Sijun 5-0 Ding Junhui
Pang Junxu 5-3 Stuart Carrington
Mark Davis 1-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Round of 32 (bo9)
Xing Zihao 1-5 Stephen Maguire
Ryan Day 2-5 Wu Yize
Aaron Hill 5-1 Martin O’Donnell
Gong Chenzhi 4-5 He Guoqiang
Xu Si 0-5 Xiao Guodong
Robert Milkins 2-5 Tom Ford
Jamie Jones 1-5 Barry Hawkins
Matthew Selt 0-5 Judd Trump
Mark Allen 5-4 Si Jiahui
Jack Lisowski 5-4 Sam Craigie
Stuart Bingham 4-5 Ali Carter
Zhou Yuelong 3-5 Liam Highfield
Ben Mertens 1-5 Lyu Haotian
Zhang Anda 5-1 Noppon Saengkham
Ashley Carty 2-5 Yuan Sijun
Pang Junxu 4-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Round of 16 (bo9)
Stephen Maguire 4-5 Wu Yize
Aaron Hill 5-3 He Guoqiang
Xiao Guodong 4-5 Tom Ford
Barry Hawkins 2-5 Judd Trump
Mark Allen 5-2 Jack Lisowski
Ali Carter 5-1 Liam Highfield
Lyu Haotian 5-2 Zhang Anda
Yuan Sijun 1-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Quarter-Finals (bo9)
Wu Yize 5-4 Aaron Hill
Tom Ford 0-5 Judd Trump
Mark Allen 2-5 Ali Carter
Lyu Haotian 5-1 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Wu Yize 1-6 Judd Trump
Ali Carter 6-2 Lyu Haotian
Final (bo19)
Judd Trump 10-7 Ali Carter
Featured photo credit: WST
The fact O’Sullivan has not reached a ranking semi-final since the 2022 World Championship shows the ranking system is not working. He’s number one largely on the basis of a World Championship win that was 17 months ago. No ranking system is perfect but it should at least better reflect the last 12 months of action.
Agree that the rankings system needs to be changed. But Allen and Brecel are missing the boat with these opportunities. The way Trump is playing it could be him replacing ROS instead.
That’s true as Brecel has only needed the odd win here and there.
Why don’t you publish the times of today’s games?
Hi, Chris. You must have missed it, but the times were already published in the preview section of each match. I will add that info to the draw though.
Hi, I am Salman, Owner of Pool Mentor. I read the article you shared and found it informative. The article provides a preview of the Wuhan Open semi-finals, which will take place on Saturday at the Wuhan Sports Gymnasium in China. The event is the fifth ranking tournament of the 2023/24 campaign and has a huge champion’s cheque of £140,000 to be awarded to the winner 1.
My unique advice for watching the Wuhan Open semi-finals is to tune in to Eurosport and discovery+ across Europe or Matchroom.Live in all other areas except China. Watching live can give you a better understanding of the game and help you learn new techniques from professional players 1.
Overall, I think this article does a great job of providing a preview of the Wuhan Open semi-finals and highlighting the importance of watching live games. It’s a great reminder that even small details like watching live can make a big difference in your understanding and performance.