Liam Davies admitted that it’s “like a dream” after he reached his first ranking event quarter-final with a victory over Wu Yize on Thursday at the English Open.
Davies upset the reigning world snooker champion with a fine performance in Brentwood that included a 105 century break in the second frame.
The young Welshman is seeded outside the top 100 for the Home Nations Series tournament, but he has gone on a brilliant run from the qualifiers through to the last eight.
Indeed, it has been a strong start to the 2026/27 season generally for the 20 year-old, who regained his tour card in May through graduating from the dreaded Q School.
Prior to the 2026 English Open, Davies already mustered standout victories over the likes of Ding Junhui, Barry Hawkins, and Gary Wilson.
Beating the Crucible champion represents another feather in his cap as he looks to establish himself as a genuine contender on the main tour.
“It’s crazy,” Davies told the World Snooker Tour. “We were just saying on the way up here how a couple of months ago I was in Q School.”
“I was thinking can I really do it? But you have a few wins in Q School, then come to the first tournament of the season and feel a different player.
“If you win a couple of games, you get a bit more confidence behind you. When you’re playing on stages like that and beating a world champion, it’s unbelievable.
“You find out a lot about yourself coming through Q School – especially when you’re young.
“I think everyone needs time to get used to the tour. There are so many good players and basically all of your idols in one room.
“You put so much pressure on yourself to win and keep your tour card. But when you fall off and get back on, it feels like that’s just gone.
“So yeah, it’s been a positive start to the season.
“For me, it’s kind of like a dream. You’re waiting to wake up all the time, but it’s great and it’s such a good feeling.
“It feels like you are doing your family and friends proud as well.”
In the English Open quarter-finals, Davies will be up against an iconic figure from his nation with Mark Williams standing in his way of a berth in the last four.
Williams, chasing a 28th ranking title, advanced after ousting Barry Hawkins with a 4-1 scoreline.
The bottom half of the draw also includes another pair of former world champions with Judd Trump in action against Shaun Murphy in probably the tie of the round.
In the top half, Kyren Wilson is the highest-ranked player still in the hunt for the £100,000 top prize.
The Warrior proved that it is in fact possible to beat Mark Selby in a deciding frame, ending the latter’s streak of winning five 4-3 matches in the space of just over a week with a deciding-frame success.
Wilson encounters Ding Junhui next in another eye-catching affair, while last year’s English Open runner-up Zhou Yuelong takes on six-time ranking event winner Ali Carter.
Those two games commence at 13:00 BST with the matches in the bottom half of the draw starting at 19:00 BST.
Featured photo credit: WST
