Mark Williams thrashed Zhang Anda 5-1 to reach yet another ranking semi-final at the Wuhan Open.
The legendary Welshman celebrated his 50th birthday back in March and tomorrow he will compete in the last four of a ranking event for the 68th time.
Such is the longevity of three-time World Champion Williams, that victory this weekend would see him become the first player to win a tour event in his teens, 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.
Williams ended last season by reaching his fifth Crucible final back in May. He faced Zhao Xintong in the title match, who denied Williams a fourth crown to become Asia’s first ever World Champion.
The 26-time ranking event winner has carried his form into this season and scored a fine victory against Mark Selby in the previous round to earn his place in today’s quarter-finals.
A break of 74 gave Williams the opener, before former International Champion Zhang restored parity.
From that point Williams assumed total control of proceedings, crafting runs of 83 and 60 en route to four on the bounce and a place in the semi-finals.
“I didn’t realise it was that many. 68 semi-finals? That is unbelievable, what can I say about that,” said a thrilled world number five Williams.
“I’ve got to pinch myself sometimes with what I’m doing. The peak of my powers was between 24 and 31. I’m 20 years past that and I’m still getting to semi-finals of tournaments. It is incredible when you sit back and think of it.
“If you had said to me five years ago I would still be in semi-finals and competing I wouldn’t have believed you but here we still are. I’m still giving the top players in the world a run for their money. How long it will go on for, I don’t know. I just have to enjoy it.”
Next up Williams faces defending champion Xiao Guodong, who ended the fairytale run of English 18-year-old Stan Moody by prevailing 5-2.
Xiao lifted his maiden ranking title here in Wuhan 12 months ago by beating Si Jiahui in the title match. Soon after he made the final of the invitational Champion of Champions, where he was beaten by tomorrow’s opponent Williams.
Moody beat the likes of Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking tournament for the first time, but Xiao proved to be a bridge too far today. Breaks of 94, 87 and 100 saw local hero Xiao make the semis for a second consecutive year.
World number ten Mark Allen booked his place in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open with a fiercely fought 5-4 defeat of Si Jiahui, but afterwards admitted he won’t be content unless he leaves China with silverware.
Allen is hunting his first ranking crown since the 2024 Players Championship, having only picked up his only title of last season at the invitational Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.
The Northern Irishman’s season has kicked off in earnest this week, after withdrawing from the Shanghai Masters and losing his opening clash with Chang Bingyu at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
A disappointing defeat world number 15 Si means he will have to wait for his maiden ranking title, but after another good run this week Wuhan has proved to be a happy hunting ground for the former Crucible semi-finalist. He made the final last year, but lost out to Chinese compatriot Xiao Guodong.
It was Si who took charge of the early stages this evening, moving 3-1 ahead at the mid-session with breaks of 90 and 51.
When play resumed, breaks of 109 and 66 helped Allen to fire back into the match and move 4-3 ahead. Si showed his steel to force a decider, but it was Allen who fired in 70 in the final frame to get over the line. He now faces Gary Wilson for a place in the final.
Allen said: “Everyone is here to win. I can’t imagine there are too many people here just trying to nick a few quid. I’m here trying to win the tournament and anything less than that is disappointing. The bigger picture is if you get to the semis or finish runner up then you’ve had a reasonable week, but ultimately it is about winning.
“You want to start any season well but it just didn’t happen for me in Saudi, although I played alright in that game. I wasn’t overly gutted, but I’ve come here having put in a lot of good work on the practice table. Hopefully this is just the start of me reaping the rewards.
“Gary is super aggressive and scores very heavily. He has a bit of bottle about him as well. As you’ve seen in recent years if he gets in with a chance, he is more than capable of winning the tournament. I’ll have to play better than I have so far this week, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Wilson is one win away from earning a place in the world’s top 16 after defeating four-time World Champion John Higgins 5-3.
The Tyneside Terror is through to his first semi-final in over a year after defeating a hitlist of top stars which includes Masters champion Shaun Murphy and world number one Judd Trump, as well as Higgins.
The decisive frame was a tight one, but it eventually came down to a battle on the brown. Higgins endured an unexpected in off out of nowhere and left himself needing snookers, to hand Wilson victory.
I must confess that I watched very little of the action yesterday, not by choice but because of private circumstances1, and can’t add anything to those reports. Xiao is doing a really good job in his attempt to defend the title and I’m happy for him. It’s never easy.
Xiao didn’t hit the ground running when he first got on the tour, but he is finally turning into a really top player. He was always quality. This morning he beat Mark Williams by 6-3 to book his place in the final. Earlier this year, he earned gold for China at the 2025 World Games in Chengdu. I really like him, I like the person is is. When he first got on tour, he immediately made every effort to learn English in order to be able to communicate with everyone around. He’s a very positive type of guy. In 2010, after heartbreakingly losing by 10-9 to Tony Drago in the first round of the World Qualifiers, his reaction was not to go out and get drunk, no, instead he went out, dyed his hair bright pink, and came back to support his compatriots who were still competing.
Nothing dramatic or sad, just actual life and social duties getting in the way of hobbies… ↩︎
Ronnie O'Sullivan 