Here are the reports by WST on the action in Belfast yesterday.

Afternoon session

BETVICTOR NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN DAY FIVE AFTERNOON

Shaun Murphy came from 3-1 down to beat Stuart Bingham 4-3 in a thrilling black ball finish at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open to reach his 80th ranking event quarter-final.

Murphy admitted it was “panic stations” when Bingham surged 3-1 ahead in a high quality tussle, but eventually a brilliant last-gasp clearance from Murphy gave him victory and a last-eight clash with Judd Trump or Barry Hawkins in Belfast on Friday. World number eight Murphy is seeking his first title since the 2023 Championship League.

He was on track for a 147 in the opening frame before missing a tough penultimate red on 104. In a repeat of the 2015 Crucible final, Bingham stormed back to take three in a row with top runs of 121 and 101. Back came Murphy with 56 and 52 for 3-3, then Bingham looked set to take the decider until he missed a difficult red to a top corner on 60. It came down to the last two reds, and Murphy converted a mid-range pot to set up a match-winning 40, finishing with a tricky black along the baulk cushion.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to win easily!” said the 42-year-old, who reached his first ranking quarter-final in 2004. “Stuart played incredibly well. At 3-1 I hadn’t done much wrong. It was panic stations but the trick is to stay calm because you usually get a chance. I got lucky in the last frame, if Stuart had got a good pack split on 60 in the decider it would have been over. I love coming here to Belfast and I’ve got strong ties here.“

World Champion Kyren Wilson ended the run of 18-year-old Stan Moody with a 4-1 success. A top break of 91 helped world number two Wilson to reach his only quarter-final this season other than the Xi’an Grand Prix, which he went on to win. 

“I was on a bit of a hiding to nothing because I was expected to beat Stan,” said Wilson. “I had to make sure I stayed professional, played the right shots and kept him under pressure. I had a week off after the Wuhan Open so I’m pleased to come here, switch back on and get to another quarter-final. 

“Stan hits the ball lovely. You have to learn on the job in this game and obviously he needs more experience and probably to take a few hidings. He is in a great position to have so many tournaments to play in and the prize money is huge. He’s showing he can beat some of the top players.”   

Wilson will now meet Mark Williams, who saw off Ma Hailong 4-2 with a top break of 51. After losing in the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters last month, Williams chose to change his cue, and has no doubt it was the right decision.

“When I started using the new cue I was expecting to lose in the first round a few times, but it’s something I wanted to do,” said the three-time World Champion. “I’m in another quarter-final here. The cue is beautiful, it’s all down to the person using it.“

China’s Pang Junxu reached his fourth ranking event quarter-final with a 4-0 whitewash of Martin O’Donnell. His next opponent is Oliver Lines or Neil Robertson.

Evening session

BETVICTOR NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN DAY FIVE EVENING

Judd Trump kept up his incredible streak of reaching at least the quarter-finals of every tournament he has contested in 2024 as he beat Barry Hawkins 4-2 in the last 16 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

By far the most consistent player on the tour and the runaway world number one, Trump has now reached the last eight of 15 consecutive tournaments this year. He has won four of those, reached two other finals and banked over £1.5 million in prize money.

Bristol’s Trump is defending the title in Belfast and has lifted the trophy four times since 2018. Breaks of 69, 63 and 105 helped him beat Hawkins tonight and set up a blockbuster clash with Shaun Murphy at 7 pm on Friday at the Waterfront Hall.

Neil Robertson is another player on form, having landed the BetVictor English Open last month, and is just three wins away from becoming the first player to have lifted all four Home Nations trophies. The Australian eased to a 4-1 win over Oliver Lines with top breaks of 76, 65, 53 and 107.

“It’s nice to keep the progress ticking over this week,” said Robertson, who now meets Pang Junxu. “There is extra motivation as it’s the last one I need to complete the Home Nations set. Whenever the calendar comes out it’s a tournament I look forward to.”

Louis Heathcote, enjoying the best run of his career so far, beat Tian Pengfei 4-2 to reach his second ranking event quarter-final, the only previous one coming at the 2021 Shoot Out. Breaks of 72, 87, 80 and 57 helped the Leicester cueman to a fine win over China’s Tian.

“I have got stronger as the week has gone on and I am delighted to get this far,” said 27-year-old Heathcote. “I made a big clearance to go 2-2 tonight and felt very focussed. I didn’t miss much under pressure. I’ve had two days before this match, it was a lot of time to think about it and play things out in my head. This afternoon I was nervous, but once I got out there I was relaxed. Tomorrow I want to try to enjoy the occasion more.”

He will now meet Elliot Slessor, who reached the ninth ranking event quarter-final of his career with a 4-1 win over Lei Peifan.

Friday’s quarter-finals:
12pm
Neil Robertson v Pang Junxu
Not before 2pm
Kyren Wilson v Mark Williams
7pm
Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy
Louis Heathcote v Elliot Slessor

As always, all the results are available on snooker.org

The Bingham vs Murphy match was really excellent. What happened “in parallel” on the other table is the only match overlooked in the above reports. It was likely unspectacular. Indeed Pang Junxu beat Martin O’Donnell by 4-0, in a match that was only 10 minutes shorter than the Bingham v Murphy one and featured only one break worth a mention, a break of exactly 50 by Pang in frame 2.

Neil Robertson played and scored well but Oliver Lines had chances. He was often first in the balls but was unable to construct any significant break from there. Once Neil was in, it was basically frame over.

We have some very good matches in prospect today. The only one that I can see being possibly one-sided is the Robertson v Pang one.