Here are WST reports on quarter-finals day in Belfast
Lisowski And Hawkins Into Semis
Jack Lisowski, yet to concede more than a single frame in a match this week in Belfast, reached his first ranking event semi-final in eight months with an emphatic 5-1 defeat of Ricky Walden at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open. Barry Hawkins is also into the last four, edging out David Gllbert 5-4.
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World number 13 Lisowski won each of his first four matches by a 4-1 scoreline at the Waterfront Hall, and again cruised to victory in his quarter-final against Walden, making a century and two more breaks over 70.
The 32-year-old from Gloucestershire is into his 12th ranking semi-final and first since the German Masters in February. He will meet Chris Wakelin or Yuan Sijun on Saturday at 1pm, and victory would put Lisowski into his seventh ranking final and first since the 2021 Gibraltar Open. He is just two wins away from his first professional title.
Walden might have won the opening frame but missed the penultimate red to a top corner, playing with the rest, when he led 68-27. Lisowski cleared with 42, before Walden levelled with a superb break of 132. A scrappy third frame went Lisowski’s way, then he stepped up a gear with a 128 to lead 3-1 at the interval.
In the fifth, Walden led 37-0 when he missed a straight-forward pink to a centre pocket, and his opponent punished him with an 81 clearance. And the left-hander wrapped up the result in frame six with a 73.
Lisowski said: “Ricky is an amazing player, the break he made in the second frame was the best I have seen all week. I thought I was really in for a game. But he missed a few balls at key points and I made some nice clearances. Maybe the scoreline flatters me a bit. I felt good all game, I’m in a good place and enjoying my snooker. The venue is great and when it gets busy it’s a brilliant place to play snooker in front of an Irish crowd.
“It’s unusual for me to win all my matches comfortably because I’m usually quite reckless and open. I am trying to play better safety. I am trying to think more, to do the simple things better, not rush around the table. That goes against my natural tendencies, which feels a bit weird.”
Lisowski has former World Champion Peter Ebdon in his corner and they have regular phone conversations. He added: “I always speak to him. Hopefully if I get to the final he’ll come out. I love working with him and I think he’s happy so far this week.”
A high-quality battle between Hawkins and Gilbert included three centuries and five more breaks over 50. BetVictor European Masters champion Hawkins came out on top and continued his quest for a second ranking title of the season. The 44-year-old Londoner is into his 31st ranking event semi-final and will meet Judd Trump or Stephen Maguire on Saturday at 7pm.
Hawkins is second, behind Trump, in the BetVictor Series Rankings, so victory this week would leave him on target to win the £150,000 bonus which will be awarded after the eighth and final counting event – the BetVictor Welsh Open in February.
Hawkins made breaks of 138 and 134 in taking a 3-1 lead. Gilbert pulled one back with a run of 58, before Hawkins won frame six with a 66 to lead 4-2. The heavy scoring continued as Gilbert fired runs of 65 and 106 to level at 4-4.
A mid-range red set up a chance for Hawkins in the decider, albeit with pink and black out of commission. He played a series of superb positional shots, using the blue and baulk colours, to craft a run of 57 which proved enough.
“It was a fantastic match,” said Hawkins. “There were very few balls missed. David looked like he fancied the job, even at 4-2. I’m delighted to come through especially with a good break in the last frame. I kept coming awkward on the reds and having to pot long blues, those shots can be easily missed.”
Trump Overturns Maguire In Belfast Thriller
Judd Trump came from 3-1 down to beat Stephen Maguire 5-4 in the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open and is now just two wins away from joining the elite group of players to land three consecutive ranking titles.
Trump has won a remarkable 18 matches in a row, a golden run that has seen him lift the trophy at both the BetVictor English Open and Wuhan Open within the past three weeks. If he can complete the hat-trick on Sunday he will join Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ding Junhui as the only players to capture three ranking titles in a row. His next opponent on Saturday evening will be Barry Hawkins, who beat Trump in the final of the BetVictor European Masters in August.
Chris Wakelin is also into the last four in Belfast after seeing off Yuan Sijun 5-2, and he’ll meet Jack Lisowski in the first semi-final on Saturday from 1pm.
Scotland’s Maguire won a scrappy opening frame tonight before Trump levelled with a break of 78. Maguire, playing in his first ranking quarter-final since the 2022 World Championship, regained the lead with a 74, then got the better of a safety battle on the brown in frame four and took advantage for 3-1.
World number three Trump stormed back after the interval with 109 and 81 for 3-3. Frame seven came down to the last red, and a safety error from Trump gifted his opponent the chance to edge ahead. But Trump’s 71 made it 4-4, and early in the decider he stroked in a long red to set up a break of 54. After a safety exchange, the Bristol cueman added 24 to keep his winning streak going.
Trump, though to his 57th ranking semi-final, said: “I made two really good breaks in the last two frames to get over the line. At 3-1 down I felt I hadn’t done much wrong and I would get my chances, I was never worried. When I got a chance in the decider I really felt I would take it. This arena comes alive when we go down to one table so it will be great to experience that tomorrow. Barry is in great form, he is more consistent than he has been for a long time. He’ll fancy his chances, just as I will.”
Wakelin won the BetVictor Shoot Out last season but had otherwise never previously reached the semi-finals of a ranking event. The Nuneaton cueman made breaks of 62 and 76 in taking a 2-1 lead before China’s Yuan levelled at 2-2. After the interval, world number 25 Wakelin made a vital 34 clearance to win frame five, took the next with a 54 and then ground through frame seven to complete the scoreline.
“It was a scrappy match and trying to get over the line felt like climbing Mount Everest,” admitted the 31-year-old. “If it had gone 4-3 then the pressure would have grown so I was pleased to get it done. To get to the semi-finals feels like a big step in my career thought I don’t feel I have played my best. I have battled well and I have not shown that in recent years. I’ve had a tendency to go into my shell and be scared of losing. This week I have battled from the heart, I have put everything into it.
“Tomorrow will be a big challenge, Jack is a phenomenal player. But he is yet to win silverware and that’s a monkey on his back. That’s something he’ll be looking to cross off and he might fancy his chances against me. But I wouldn’t want to play me at the moment. My game is as good as ever and I’m filled with confidence and belief that I belong in the later stages of these tournaments.”
Chris Wakelin is a completely different player since he won the Shoot Out. Maybe winning an event – any event – was what he needed to be able to unleash his full potential, or, maybe, it’s the added financial security that “freed” him. Whatever it is, it worked wonders. Prior to that win, Chris had to battle mental health issues. He didn’t withdraw, lonely, in a corner. He took on ballroom dancing and it helped him massively: he lost weight, got fitter and made new friends. He deserves everything good coming his way. He’s played his QF match on table 2 and that may put him at a disadvantage. We shall see. His opponent, Jack Lisowski, also seems to finally mature. This week, he’s been able to “control” his attacking instincts better and to play more of a percentage game, without being negative. I look forward to their match.
Judd and Barry have met many times over the last 15 years. Each of them has got significant wins over the other. They have contrasting styles. This match is hard to predict but I would be very surprised if it was one-sided. With the time difference, I may not be able watch it to its conclusion… 😴 … not out of boredom, just that I’m not a night owl …
Ronnie was in the studio yesterday. He looked well and happy. Asked about his arm injury he said that he hopes to be fully fit for the International Championship. Fingers crossed.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
I’ve seen just a third of the Trump v. Maguire match. How Trump won that match I cannot explain. Throughout Trump looked shaky, and Maguire, particularly in the first session, seemed to be able to power through.
Now, I have for some time held there are at least two Judds. One is an infantile showboat, going for the spectacular in order to convince mom he’s worthy of being married. The other is a hard-nosed professional going, methodically and efficiently, for the win. If the two manage to work together, we’re having ourselves a snooker festival. If they are squabbling, things get dour, fickle, and mediocre. (Note, please, that nothing in this paragraph is a statement of fact – just a rather silly interpretation to make sense of Trump going from unplayable to mediocre – and back – in next to no time, as I really have no idea as to what ails Trump. He needs to get to terms with his daemons, as we all do.)
I don’t know whether there is much to it, but yesterday Trump seems to have had an “uneasy truce day”. The only thing that separated him from Maguire was a slightly better adjustment to the table conditions. Maguire appears to have been surprised by what the cue ball was doing more often than Trump. That may be why the truce held, and Trump got over the line, even though he looked the weaker player during most of what I’ve seen. He needs the two Judds looking more fondly at each other to get to the final, or so I would guess. (I’ve been wrong before, so…)
Anyway, I am mostly done watching snooker. No idea what you are doing when snooker is on, but I’m constantly trying to analyze the picture, to find balls to pot along with possible paths for the cue ball towards the next ball to pot, along with reasons why those who know what they are doing are, time and again, making vastly different decisions. What I get is the picture, for a second or three, and then I find myself gawking at a player’s mug, at the totality of the venue, at the audience, at the seated player, oh, and there’s the table again from just inches above the cushion, a perspective of no informational value whatsoever. And then, it’s the player’s mug again. When the player gets down for the shot, I get to study the man’s left ear, or the right, as the case may be. What is this crew thinking? That these guys are models? Watching snooker – or rather “snooker” – that way is a monumental waste of time, and it bores me to tears.
I can’t begin to understand why the TV team doesn’t have a monumental sh!t-storm to deal with over their coverage – or rather “coverage”. They seem to be consumed with a base desire to gawk at celebrities, rather than any interest whatsoever in the game, which they don’t seem to understand anyway. Otherwise they wouldn’t consistently fail to pay attention to the cue ball.
I’m with you regarding Maguire. He should have won that match, and would have easily against the Judd Trump from 3-4 years ago. But he’s changed, and has learned how to win when things aren’t going this way. As for the TV crew … what I do know is that two very experienced, and “snooker knowledgeable” cameramen – Duncan Richmond and Geoff Kay are now retired and I believe it’s a huge loss for snooker on TV.
LOL, one stream yesterday kept drawing lines how the shot should go and where is should end up. I suppose it could be a little too much after awhile, but for the time I had to watch it was certainly entertaining.