The 2024 Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship schedule has reached its semi-final stage, with just four players left in the hunt for glory in Manchester.
The remaining contenders have already guaranteed themselves a £40,000 cheque by reaching this far.
But two further victories will see one of the quartet claim the £150,000 top prize in what is this season’s penultimate ranking tournament.
Let’s take a look at both semi-final matches on the Tour Championship schedule.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Gary Wilson
Friday, 1pm and 7pm UTC
Following Judd Trump’s somewhat surprising exit in the quarter-finals on Thursday, Ronnie O’Sullivan will definitely head to the upcoming World Championship as the sport’s world number one.
The Rocket didn’t need to be at his devastating best in his last-eight tie, thrashing a lacklustre Ali Carter with a comprehensive 10-2 scoreline.
O’Sullivan, arguably the player of the 2023/24 campaign, remains on course then to land a sixth piece of silverware from this term.
There is no doubting the fact he’ll be a big favourite in his semi-final outing against Gary Wilson.
The latter has represented a vastly improved force over the last couple of seasons overall, but this kind of occasion will test his newly acquired credentials as a permanent top 16 member even more.
Wilson has recorded back-to-back 10-8 triumphs in the event so far, beating Mark Selby and Zhang Anda by the same narrow margin.
This season’s champion in both the Scottish and the Welsh Open has faced O’Sullivan once before over the best of 19 frames.
That was at the Crucible Theatre seven years ago when O’Sullivan emerged as a 10-7 victor.
Their most recent clash was at the World Grand Prix in January, when O’Sullivan thumped Wilson 5-1 en route to capturing the title.
Mark Allen vs Mark Williams
Saturday, 1pm and 7pm UTC
The second semi-final will be a battle of the Marks on Saturday between Allen and Williams.
Williams compiled only a couple of breaks above 50 but still eased to a 10-4 success against top seed Trump.
Allen, by contrast, was involved in a topsy-turvy duel with Ding Junhui that concluded with the Northern Irishman taking the last three frames for a 10-8 win.
The key point in that match came in the 16th frame when Allen, who had earlier compiled a tournament-high 142 break, prevented Ding from taking a two-frame lead by potting a respotted black.
Allen is still well positioned to finish this season as the world number one, leading the way on the provisional end-of-season standings.
The Pistol boasts a much superior head-to-head record over Williams, winning 14 out of their 22 fixtures against one another.
They most recently clashed at the Players Championship when Allen prevailed 6-3 before proceeding to etch his name onto the trophy.
Williams and Allen have additionally met three times in multi-session affairs, with the former leading that particular stat 2-1.
2024 Tour Championship Draw
Round of 12
Mark Williams (8) 10-9 Tom Ford (9)
Mark Allen (5) 10-7 John Higgins (12)
Gary Wilson (6) 10-8 Mark Selby (11)
Barry Hawkins (7) 8-10 Ali Carter (10)
Quarter-Finals
Judd Trump (1) 4-10 Mark Williams (8)
Ding Junhui (4) 8-10 Mark Allen (5)
Zhang Anda (3) 8-10 Gary Wilson (6)
Ronnie O’Sullivan (2) 10-2 Ali Carter (10)
Semi-Finals
Mark Williams (8) 10-5 Mark Allen (5)
Gary Wilson (6) 7-10 Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
Final (bo19).
Mark Williams (8) 10-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
Featured photo credit: WST
Ronnie O’Sullivan is playing in his fourth Tour Championship semi-final. All three of them have ended in a decider.
The record for centuries at the Tour Championship is 33, established in 2022. That year saw O’Sullivan become the first player ever to compile five centuries in successive matches.
Allen has won the only two semi-final clashes he’s had against the Welshman. They’ve never met in a final.