Jack Lisowski is within one match of reaching the second ranking event semi-final of his career at the China Open after a 6-2 success over Gary Wilson. Lisowski reached the first ranking event semi-final of his career earlier this season at the Shanghai Masters and will match that if he can defeat Masters runner-up Kyren Wilson on Friday. Lisowski was buzzing after slaying John Higgins, his idol, in the last-32 with a confident display that saw him firing in breaks of 95, 72, 54 and 68.
The rich vein of form did not stop there, with the world’s number 35 seeing off Gary Wilson courtesy of some more excellent scoring. Lisowski had runs of 52, 88, 81 and 60 on the way to his 6-2 victory. Kyren Wilson meanwhile had an impressive 6-5 win over home favourite Ding Junhui, in a match which featured two centuries and eight more breaks over 50. The gutsy Masters finalist trailed 4-2 and by 69 points in the seventh frame as Ding looked to delight the expectant home crowd, but Wilson got the snooker he needed and that proved the catalyst for him to snatch a crucial frame.
A run of 111 helped Wilson move to within one frame of victory but the Chinese potter hit back to level at the match at 5-5. Ding was once more in box seat with a 61-point advantage but he gave Wilson a sniff and the Kettering cueman compiled a nerveless clearance of 67 to win the match. Wilson is favourite at 1.62 to overcome Lisowski, priced at 13/10 in their quarter-final showdown. The Alexandra Palace finalist is 5/1 to win the match 6-3.