It promises to be a thrilling climax to the 2026 World Open with two blockbuster semi-finals to be played on Saturday in China.
Friday’s action in Yushan was dominated by the incredible story line of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s world record break of 153 against Ryan Day.
The Rocket utilised the free-ball rule to add a rare 16th red to his break, taking 14 blacks and two pinks en route to making the highest contribution ever in professional competition.
The show goes on, however, and O’Sullivan is one of four players who are left in the hunt for glory in what is the campaign’s third-last ranking tournament.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Wu Yize
Despite his recent struggles on the circuit, O’Sullivan has looked sharp all week and, even aside from his history-making 153 knock, it has been clear that he has hit the practice table hard in recent weeks.
But it won’t come much tougher than his next opponent, with Wu Yize quickly developing into one of the most dangerous competitors at the top of the game.
Wu backed up his victory over Kyren Wilson by thrashing Mark Allen, and it’ll be interesting to see how the 22 year-old handles himself as he prepares to face O’Sullivan for only the second time in his fledgling career.
Their first clash was back at the 2022 European Masters where O’Sullivan prevailed with a 5-1 scoreline, but Wu is a vastly improved force compared to then.
The latter is bidding for a second ranking title of the season having already claimed his maiden piece of silverware at the International Championship.
O’Sullivan, of course, is hoping to end a drought of two years, which for him is a distinctly long time to go without a trophy in his hands.
When is it? Saturday, 06:00 GMT
Judd Trump vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
The second semi-final at the 2026 World Open promises to be equally entertaining, and it marks a repeat of the final back in 2019.
World number one Judd Trump faces Thepchaiya Un-Nooh after the duo emerged easily from their respective quarter-final bouts with Hossein Vafaei and Gary Wilson.
Trump boasts a dominant head-to-head record over the Thai, winning all but one of their fixtures against one another in the traditional 15-red format.
There is no questioning the fact that the Englishman will be an overwhelming favourite to advance here, but it would be foolish to completely write off a player as dangerous as Un-Nooh.
The 40 year-old has been unspectacular but relatively consistent this season, and he appears to be coming good at just the right time.
Indeed, if he were to go on and claim the £175,000 top prize, Un-Nooh would also leapfrog his way into the top ten on the one-year rankings and with it a spot at the upcoming Tour Championship.
When is it? Saturday, 11:30 GMT
Featured photo credit: WST
Zhao is good enough to go for the 155 maximum, his pin point positional play from long distant shots is a level of control that only he has displayed, it is his self imposed discipline that is his secret to bold gallantry.
Hi Robert, welcome aboard. While I wholeheartedly agree that Zhoa Xintong will be very hard not to the best in the near future, I do find it insensitive to not appreciate the here and now. Nobody has ever done what Ronnie did yesterday. That has to stand for something. Ronnie alone made two 147,s in the same match this year, and he barely played all year. He is going to attempt winning the Crucible for seniors and the regular tour. If that doesn’t deserve the time to respect all that he is done just this year, including yesterday, I do not know what is.
I hope your prediction comes true but first he needs to find himself with a free ball with all the balls still on the table. That alone is an absolutely a rarity.
Good day sir.
Wu Yize and Ronnie O Sullivan tied at 4-4. Honestly, I would be happy with either winning.
In less than 3 and half hours, 11 frames complete with Ronnie O Sullivan coming back from 43 -0 in the decider framer to clear the table. Wu Yize never was ahead in the match but kept fighting back. One the best matches in my opinion this year.
I’m happy, despite the second fastest player pretty much taking 4 shots in the same time for Trump’s one shot, the match lasted 4 hours and 15 minutes for 10 frames. Truly, Trump was off form most of the time all week. Trump was up 5 -0 head to head with Zak Jones earlier this week and let’s just say, if Zak could take advantage of Trump’s form, he needs some help. Uh-Nooh was brilliant as Trump did everything to put him off his game. Good luck to Ronnie O Sullivan and Uh-Nooh in the final in 15 hours.