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
