The quarter-finals of the 2025 British Open draw will be held on Friday with the business end of this week’s ranking event fast approaching at the Centaur.
A busy opening four days in Cheltenham has seen the field get whittled down to its last eight runners, with the remaining contenders continuing their chase for the £100,000 top prize.
There are a few heavy hitters left but half of the last-eight lineup comprises players who are ranked outside the world’s top 50.
Let’s have a look at who got who in the random-draw British Open quarter-finals.
Mark Williams vs Mark Selby
A battle of the Marks between Williams and Selby represents a showdown between the last two British Open champions and a repeat of the 2023 final.
Williams ended the winning streak of recent English Open champion Mark Allen on Thursday before overcoming Lei Peifan to reach the last eight.
Selby edged Joe O’Connor 4-3 and then backed it up with a lightning 4-0 triumph over Chang Bingyu that was completed in less than an hour.
Williams and Selby have already clashed once this season – at the Wuhan Open in China when the former emerged with a 5-3 victory.
The head-to-head is close overall with Selby just about edging it from their 41 prior encounters in all competitions.
When is it? Friday, 1pm UTC+1 (BST)
Louis Heathcote vs John Higgins
It has been a promising start to the 2025/26 snooker season for Louis Heathcote, who has clearly benefited from teaming up with retired former German Masters champion Anthony Hamilton.
Heathcote was ranked outside the world’s top 64 at the end of last season but kept his professional status through his high ranking on the one-year list.
He has recorded a few good wins already this term, and his upsurge in form has been rewarded this week with a run to the British Open quarter-finals – only the third time he has reached this stage of a ranking event.
John Higgins represents an ominous obstacle for the 28 year-old to overcome next, with the Wizard of Wishaw not at his best but playing his way nicely into the weekend.
Higgins and Heathcote have never clashed before on the main tour, so it’ll be interesting to see how the latter copes with the occasion against an all-time great of the game.
When is it? Friday, 7pm UTC+1 (BST)
Stan Moody vs Anthony McGill
It’s only the fifth ranking tournament of the 2025/26 term, but the impressive Stan Moody has already reached a brace of quarter-finals.
The 19 year-old is definitely beginning to find his feet as a professional and looks set to be on the charge up the ranking list in the coming months.
Moody will fancy his chances of making a maiden appearance in a semi-final when he takes on Anthony McGill.
The Scot has generally been off the pace for several seasons, highlighted by his low ranking that even sparked concerns that he may get dragged into a fight for tour survival.
Triumphs this week for McGill over the likes of Gary Wilson and Xiao Guodong have eased those woes and guaranteed the two-time former ranking event winner a timely £12,000 payday.
When is it? Friday, 1pm UTC+1 (BST)
Shaun Murphy vs Mitchell Mann
Following a couple of eye-catching successes to reach the British Open quarter-finals on Thursday, Shaun Murphy has arguably become the man to beat.
The Magician knocked out Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters champion Neil Robertson in the last 32 and backed it up with a 4-3 defeat of world number one Judd Trump.
Murphy recently spent some time outside the elite top 16 – the first time he has experienced that since 2006 – but he has immediately responded like most great champions do.
Standing in his way of a spot in the semi-finals is Mitchell Mann, who was a surprise 4-2 winner against Barry Hawkins.
It’s only the third time in Mann’s 11-year stop-start professional career that he has gone this deep in a tournament, but he has lost to Murphy the last three times they have played one another.
When is it? Friday, 7pm UTC+1 (BST)
2025 British Open Draw
Round of 32 (bo7)
Iulian Boiko 0-4 Ali Carter
Zhang Anda 3-4 Xiao Guodong
Zak Surety 0-4 Louis Heathcote
Ben Mertens 4-0 Robbie McGuigan
Antoni Kowalski 2-4 Mitchell Mann
John Higgins 4-2 Zhao Xintong
Judd Trump 4-2 Martin O’Donnell
Barry Hawkins 4-3 Jak Jones
Stan Moody 4-2 Ian Burns
Cheung Ka Wai 1-4 Lei Peifan
Joe O’Connor 3-4 Mark Selby
Noppon Saengkham 3-4 Chang Bingyu
Anthony McGill 4-1 Oliver Lines
Mark Williams 4-3 Mark Allen
Liam Davies 4-2 David Lilley
Shaun Murphy 4-1 Neil Robertson
Last 16 (bo7)
Chang Bingyu 0-4 Mark Selby
Lei Peifan 1-4 Mark Williams
John Higgins 4-1 Ben Mertens
Mitchell Mann 4-2 Barry Hawkins
Shaun Murphy 4-3 Judd Trump
Stan Moody 4-3 Ali Carter
Xiao Guodong 2-4 Anthony McGill
Liam Davies 2-4 Louis Heathcote
Quarter-Finals (bo9)
Mark Williams vs Mark Selby
Louis Heathcote vs John Higgins
Stan Moody vs Anthony McGill
Shaun Murphy vs Mitchell Mann
Click here for the update results and draw (snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
Higgins appearing in a 152nd ranking quarter-final and his 12th at the British Open. The first, in 1993, saw him lose to Jimmy White.