Ding Junhui is hot favourite to win snooker's World Open after he edged past Li Hang to reach the semi-finals - but Kyren Wilson is hitting top form at the right time.
Chinese star Ding jumped to the head of the betting in Yushen when John Higgins crashed out on Thursday while the tournament has also seen former world champions Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson and Stuart Bingham bow out in earlier rounds.
He delighted the home fans with breaks of 110, 108, 72 and 68 during a 5-3 win over compatriot Li Hang, who had enjoyed an impressive run here, and now meet Luca Brecel.
The Belgian will be a dangerous opponent having won his first ranking title at last month's China Championship and booked his place in the last four here after a break of 60 saw him pinch a final-frame decider against Anthony McGill.
Brecel had earlier made a superb break of 117 in building up 4-1 lead before McGill threatened a comeback victory.
Englishman Wilson produced the finest performance of the day with consecutive breaks of 102, 127, 71 and 135 during a resounding 5-1 victory over in-form veteran Mark Williams.
His Welsh opponent kick-started the match with a break of 121 himself but he didn't pot another ball thanks to Wilson's overall run of 503 unanswered points - just 44 points short of Stuart Bingham's ranking event record of 547.
The 25-year-old, who celebrated the birth of his second son Bailey shortly before travelling to Yushen, told : "It’s got to be one of my best games ever. It’s nice to finally produce what I am capable of. I play like that in practice a lot so it is nice to do it on a big stage against a very good player."
He will now play Mark Allen after the Northern Irishman beat David Gilbert 5-1 but without scoring a century.
World Open: Sky Bet odds
- Ding Junhui -
- Mark Allen -
- Kyren Wilson -
- Luca Brecel -
Friday's results & Saturday schedule
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Afternoon Session
Quarter-Finals (Best of nine frames)
- Mark Williams 1-5 Kyren Wilson (QF 3)
- Mark Allen 5-1 David Gilbert (QF 4)
Evening Session
Quarter-Finals (Best of nine frames)
- Anthony McGill 4-5 Luca Brecel (QF 1)
- Li Hang 3-5 Ding Junhui (QF 2)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 23
Afternoon Session (0700 BST)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport 1
- Kyren Wilson v Mark Allen (SF 2)
Evening Session (1230 BST)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
TV Coverage: Eurosport 1
- Luca Brecel v Ding Junhui (SF 1)
