The 2026 China Open is down to its final four with the semi-finals taking centre stage on Saturday in Taiyuan.
Back on the calendar for the first time since 2019, the lucrative ranking event has already seen a number of big names depart with only one challenger remaining from the elite group of top 16 seeds.
Three-time champion Mark Selby is bidding for another China Open crown, while Stuart Bingham is chasing his first ranking title since 2019.
In the other semi-final, Noppon Saengkham’s incredible run continues against Zhou Yuelong, with both players presented with a huge opportunity to reach another ranking event final.
Here is a look at the two upcoming fixtures in the 2026 China Open semi-finals.
Mark Selby vs Stuart Bingham
Mark Selby has been in ruthless form so far in Taiyuan and now stands just two wins away from a record fourth China Open title.
The Englishman was the champion in 2015, 2017, and 2018, and his latest bid got another significant boost when he thrashed defending champion Neil Robertson 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
That result not only booked Selby’s place in the last four but also ended Robertson’s immediate hopes of returning to the world number one position.
Selby could actually end August as the world number one himself, although he would need to win the China Open and then follow that up with another title at the upcoming Wuhan Open.
The four-time world champion has certainly given himself an excellent platform to do so, having lost just four frames across his first three matches this week.
Standing in his way is Stuart Bingham, who booked his place in the semi-finals with a 6-3 victory over Zhang Anda.
It represents Bingham’s first ranking event semi-final of the 2026 calendar year, and the 50 year-old will now be hoping to go all the way in a tournament where the £250,000 top prize is still up for grabs.
Like Selby, Bingham is a former world champion having lifted the Crucible trophy in 2015.
He is also bidding to capture the seventh ranking title of his career and his first since the Gibraltar Open more than seven years ago.
Somewhat surprisingly, there is absolutely nothing between the pair in their overall head-to-head record.
Selby and Bingham have met 45 times in all competitions according to Cue Tracker, with each player winning 22 of those encounters while sharing one draw.
When is it? Saturday, 12:30pm BST
Noppon Saengkham vs Zhou Yuelong
Noppon Saengkham’s remarkable giant-killing spree continued on Friday with a 6-4 victory over Shaun Murphy in the quarter-finals.
The Thai had previously knocked out world number one Judd Trump and crowd favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan, and he is now just one match away from reaching the final of a ranking event for only the second time in his career.
His only previous appearance in a ranking final came at the 2023 Scottish Open, where he was denied a maiden title by Gary Wilson.
Standing between him and another shot at glory is Zhou Yuelong, who produced a terrific comeback to edge out David Gilbert in a deciding frame.
Zhou trailed 3-0 and later found himself 5-4 behind, but he managed to force a decider before keeping his composure to secure his place in the last four.
The Chinese star is another player still searching for that elusive first ranking title.
Zhou has already appeared in four ranking event finals during his career without managing to get his hands on the trophy, notably losing last season’s English Open final to Mark Allen in a 9-8 thriller.
Saengkham and Zhou are therefore regarded among the best players in the game yet to win a ranking event, making Saturday’s clash a particularly significant opportunity for both.
The winner will reach the final of one of the richest tournaments on the calendar and move within one victory of finally breaking their ranking-title duck.
Saengkham leads their head-to-head record 4-3, although the pair have previously only met once over the best-of-11 frames.
That came at last year’s International Championship, when Saengkham prevailed 6-4.
When is it? Saturday, 7:00am BST
Featured photo credit: WST
