Shaun Murphy and Ding Junhui both played brilliantly and neither deserved to lose what was a thrilling contest. Murphy started brightly with a well made 86 to take the opening frame. But, as was the pattern of the match, they matched each other punch for punch, as Ding was soon 2-1 ahead, making breaks of 74 and 67 to give him those 2 frames. A break of 62 levelled the match at the mid-session break, in what was a match certain to go all the way. Ding regained the lead with a break of 84 to continue the high scoring play. One thing that the match deserved was a century, and Murphy provided it to level the match at 3-3 with a break of 102. Ding Junhui won a tighter seventh frame to go within 1 frame of the match at 4-3. But as ever, Shaun Murphy showed lots of gut and determination, pulling off gutsy pots to get in, and continue the break of 84 that sent it into the decider that the match warranted. The decider was much more tactical, and was played in a very good spirit by both players. Ding took a big early lead, but Murphy chipped away through the last few reds, until only 2 reds were left. Then Ding put Murphy into a very difficult snooker with no easy escape route. After failing at his first attempt, Shaun then came very close to one of the all-time greatest escapes, but missed the red by a matter of millimetres. The whole thing was handled very well by Murphy, and after Ding laid another snooker, it was the end for the courageous "Magician". Ding keeps his hopes of a home victory alive, while Murphy should be very proud of his professionalism and his efforts today, as always. For me, this is Ding's best chance of a victory in China for a long time.
Mark Davis continued his great form of the last few weeks, and against John Higgins, with a 5-1 win over the defending champion. Davis started really well with a break of 76 to give him the first frame, and he doubled that lead by dominating the next as well. All of a sudden Higgins was 3-0 down after Davis survived a scare after having a decent lead in the frame, only for Higgins to come back at him, but Davis survived the scare and took the 3-0 lead. A break of 50 in the next frame gave Higgins hope at 3-1, but after the interval this was soon extinguished as Davis made a break of 52, and then won a the sixth as well to take a 5-1 win. This may be Davis's best ever chance to win a ranking event.
Neil Robertson won the battle of the left-handers against Mark King 5-3. Robertson took a tight opener to gain the momentum, and then a break of 65 gave him the next, after King made an earlier 59, putting Robertson 2-0 in front. King recovered in the third with a run of 84 to reduce the deficit to 2-1. King won a tight frame before the interval, to level the scores at 2 each. A break of 82 from Robertson restored his lead at 3-2, before King levelled again, dominating the sixth to get it back to 3-3. Robertson dominated the seventh and eighth frames though and took out the match in the end, 5-3.
Kyren Wilson got another fantastic victory beating Marco Fu 5-3 to reach the quarter-finals. His top breaks of 59, 65 and 133 were another to give him another big victory and continue his fantastic start to the season.
Elsewhere Xiao Guodong came from 3-1 down to beat Peter Lines 5-3 with a top break of 62 in what seemed like quite a scrappy affair, but keeps the Chinaman's hopes of a home ranking win alive.
Michael Holt won a great contest against Martin Gould 5-4, despite Gould making 2 centuries in the match and Holt not making a half century break in the whole match. Looking at the way the top half has opened up, this could well be Holt's week.
Mark Selby came back from 4-2 down to beat Robert Milkins on the black 5-4 to book his last 8 spot. The UK and Masters champion made top runs of 52, 80 and 107 on his way to another good comeback win.
Finally, 2013 World Championship runner-up Barry Hawkins won his last 16 match very comfortably 5-2 against Welshmen Ryan Day. His high breaks were 59, 91 and 93 in a relatively easy win.
Quarter-Final Draw and Predictions
Mark Davis Vs Xiao Guodong - I expect Mark Davis to continue his good form in this one, and reach another ranking semi-final. Meanwhile, Xiao Guodong played well in round 1, but not so well in round 2 but still got the job done. However, i'm not sure he could get the job done again.Prediction: Comfortable Davis win.
Kyren Wilson Vs Michael Holt - Both players have played well so far in the event, and beaten players ranked above them. Holt of course has a lot more experience than Wilson, and that could be the difference if the match goes to the wire. I expect this one to go close, and it could well come down to experience when a place in the semi-finals looms.
Prediction: Tight win for Michael Holt
Mark Selby Vs Barry Hawkins - Mark Selby has gone under the radar so far this week, and so has Hawkins. Hawkins has had 2 comfortable wins, but Selby has probably been the better of the 2 so far this and I think that if he needs to he can grind out the victory, like he did today.
Prediction: A close game but a Selby victory
Ding Junhui Vs Neil Robertson - These 2 always seem to play out some great matches, and I expect that tomorrow will be no different. Ding has played really well this week so far, and I think he is probably my new favourite to win the event. Robertson probably hasn't been at his best this week and he'll need to improve for a place in the semi-finals.
Prediction: A win for the home favourite Ding Junhui.
Looking like a great line-up for the rest of the event, and if it can live up to the snooker that was played today, we're going to be in for a great end to the week, and i'm really looking forward to watching it unfold.
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