A total of eight players are left standing to compete in the English Open quarter-finals set to take place on Friday in Crawley.

The K2 Leisure Centre in Crawley was a scene of frenetic activity as several big names crashed out, including Shaun Murphy, Judd Trump, and Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Mark Selby’s bid for the first title on home soil since back in 2017 continued with triumphs over Matthew Selt and Xiao Guodong on day four.

Mark Selby continued his bid for a title at home since 2017, beating one of his Compatriots Matthew Self and 30-year-old Xiao Guodong on day four. He next takes on Mei Xiwen, who came from behind to edge O’Sullivan in a decider.

It marks the first time in the 37-year-old’s Leicester man career that he’s gotten to this stage of a ranking event, so it’s pretty fair to say that the more skillful Selby will be regarded as the favorite.

The Jester from Leicester knows that a win on Sunday would not only see him smiling to the bank with a winner’s cheque worth £70,000 but also a ticket to the much-awaited and lucrative Champion of Champions invitational next month.

In fact, the only player who is already certain of his place at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry is Mark Allen, who also features in the bottom half of the draw.

The Northern Irishman next takes on Lee Walker in the English Open quarter-finals after the latter defeated Gary Wilson 4-3.

The 43-year-old Welshman has never beaten Allen in three previous attempts, so definitely he’s got work to do if he’s to reach a ranking event semi-final for only the second time.

The other fixtures in draw includes Tom Ford, the maximum man who compiled the perfect frame in the deciding frame of his win over Murphy. Ford will have to defeat Tian Pengfei for him to move on to the semi-final.

Interestingly, the 32-year-old Chinese cueist may be the lower-ranked of the pair as he’s outside the world’s top 64, but He’s been able to secure three wins from four encounters with Ford.

Written by: Imisa Aruorihwo