Both semi-finals at the 2025 English Open will pit proven ranking winners and former world number ones against wannabe champions.
A dramatic quarter-final Friday at the Brentwood Centre produced three deciding-frame finishes as the players continued their challenges to claim the Steve Davis Trophy.
Two further victories separate them from the season’s fourth ranking title – the first on the Home Nations Series this term – and a top prize worth £100,000.
Here is a brief look at both semi-finals at the English Open on Saturday.
Mark Selby vs Zhou Yuelong
When the likes of Judd Trump and Zhao Xintong exited the running, Mark Selby was instilled as the new tournament favourite.
As a two-time former champion, Leicester’s Selby already has a strong affinity with his home ranking event, but it took all his guile to survive a 5-4 tussle with Jackson Page in the last eight.
The 42 year-old trailed 3-2 but won three out of the last four frames to pinch it, helped by a brace of centuries and a terrific 131 at the death.
The English Open winner in 2019 and 2022 will next face Zhou Yuelong, who extended his stay in the competition with a similar 5-4 victory over Luca Brecel.
The Chinese competitor was 3-1 behind at the interval but launched a stirring comeback, making breaks of 113, 95, and 94 to force a tense 50-minute decider that he edged on the final pink.
Zhou has had a very quiet couple of years on the circuit but has three final appearances in ranking events to his name.
With all the success his Chinese peers are experiencing, he’ll be desperate to go one better this weekend.
Interestingly, the 27 year-old boasts a superior head-to-head record against Selby, winning four out of their six prior meetings in all competitions.
When is it? Saturday, September 20th at 1pm UTC+1 (BST)
Mark Allen vs Jak Jones
The English Open semi-finals will continue on Saturday evening with an equally intriguing showdown between Mark Allen and Jak Jones.
Allen took the nine-frame theme to the next level with his incredible fight back against Elliot Slessor in the quarter-finals whereby the Northern Irishman prevailed despite being 4-0 down.
Jones, meanwhile, was the only one of the quarter-finalists who enjoyed a relatively easy time of it as he coasted through to the last four by beating Aaron Hill 5-2.
While it’s back-to-back semi-final appearances in a ranking event for Allen following his run in Wuhan, it’s remarkably a first trip to the last four for Jones since his memorable fortnight at the 2024 World Championship when he reached the final.
In fact, it represents only the third time in the Welshman’s career that he has been this far in a professional tournament.
As an 11-time ranking event winner, Allen will of course be considered the favourite to progress to Sunday’s title-deciding affair.
But the Pistol has frequently misfired at this stage recently and, indeed, has lost his last five ranking event semi-finals dating back to the 2024 Tour Championship.
Allen, however, does enjoy a healthy record against Jones, winning six matches from seven when they’ve faced each other on the main tour.
That includes triumphs at important events like the World Championship, the UK Championship, and the Champion of Champions.
When is it? Saturday, September 20th at 7pm UTC+1 (BST)
2025 English Open Draw
Round of 32 (bo7)
Neil Robertson 1-4 Jackson Page
Shaun Murphy 4-1 Fan Zhengyi
Wu Yize 4-2 Chris Wakelin
Lei Peifan 0-4 Mark Selby
Mark Williams 1-4 Zhou Yuelong
Barry Hawkins 4-0 Tom Ford
Luca Brecel 4-2 Si Jiahui
Pang Junxu 0-4 Robbie Williams
Judd Trump 4-1 Yuan Sijun
Gary Wilson 0-4 Elliot Slessor
Stuart Bingham 3-4 Mark Allen
Matthew Selt 1-4 Ding Junhui
Xiao Guodong 3-4 Ricky Walden
Zhang Anda 1-4 Jak Jones
Aaron Hill 4-3 Ali Carter
Jack Lisowski 4-1 Zhao Xintong
Round of 16 (bo7)
Jackson Page 4-3 Shaun Murphy
Wu Yize 2-4 Mark Selby
Zhou Yuelong 4-2 Barry Hawkins
Luca Brecel 4-3 Robbie Williams
Judd Trump 3-4 Elliot Slessor
Mark Allen 4-3 Ding Junhui
Ricky Walden 3-4 Jak Jones
Aaron Hill 4-1 Jack Lisowski
Quarter-Finals (bo9)
Jackson Page 4-5 Mark Selby
Zhou Yuelong 5-4 Luca Brecel
Elliot Slessor 4-5 Mark Allen
Jak Jones 5-2 Aaron Hill
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Times in UTC+1 (BST)
Mark Selby vs Zhou Yuelong
Saturday, 1pm
Mark Allen vs Jak Jones
Saturday, 7pm
Click here for the updated results (snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
I’m anticipating a fair amount of hard matchplay being on display in these semis.