Barry Hawkins 4-2 Martin Gould - In the end Hawkins got the upper hand clearing to the final red to lead by 30 and then pumping the final red in from distance not so long after and leaving Gould needing two snookers to tie on the colours. He got them both but then left the green on for Hawkins straight away and the left hander slotted home and followed with the brown to make absolutely sure of the win. Best run for a while for Hawkins as he moves into the quarters.
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| Barry Hawkins looks like he's coming back to form after defeating Martin Gould |
All to play for in frame 6 - There's nothing in it in frame six between Hawkins and Gould now. Five reds are left and both have had chances but the reds are close to the side cushion. Hawkins now has a half chance after Gould misses a very tough plant.
Gould stays in the hunt - In a frame that lasts less than nine minutes, Martin Gould has quickly closed the gap back up to just one frame. In first he made a nice break of 60 but did not screw back far enough from a red to middle and had to play safe with 67 remaining. On his next visit to the table a long cut left Hawkins needed snookers and when he failed to escape from the one Gould put him in, the concession came. Still 3-2 though to Hawkins.
Hawkins on the brink of victory at 3-1 - Martin Gould will be disappointed there. He had a good chance to kill that frame off but could not quite keep control of the cue ball and missed a tough one with the rest. What followed was full punishment from Hawkins who mops up nicely with a 55 to lead 3-1 and go one away from the quarters.
Gary Wilson 4-2 John Astley - The sixth and final frame ends up lasting close to 50 minutes but Wilson won't care one bit. Astley missed the green which was very close to the yellow pocket, but he was playing with drag to hold for the brown. That left it over the corner for Wilson with the other remaining colours in the open and he calmly clears to clinch the victory. Well deserved I have to say for Wilson too, he looked the better player for most of the evening.
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| Gary Wilson during a long final frame that sees him beat John Astley |
Gould on the board - A run of 68 from Gould was not quite enough to clinch the frame as he had to play safe on the final red but a Hawkins miss leaves a free ball that is more than enough for Gould to get his first frame. 2-1 now there to Hawkins.
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| Gould using the rest as he puts his first frame on the board |
Astley and Hawkins with decent advantages - Astleys chance went wrong when he missed a red to middle but didn't leave anything and the last three reds are now all safe on the bottom cushion. Astley has the lead in the frame but good safety forcing a miss from Astley is helping to claw back some points. Hawkins was in first in frame three with Gould and made an early 37 contribution before going into the pack and finishing on nothing. Still a nice early lead to have given his match advantage and means Gould needs to force things.
Hawkins doubles his lead - It is indeed now 2-0 to Hawkins with a good cut back on frame ball red clinching it with a break of 75. Nothing in the sixth frame at all between Wilson and Astley with six reds left, though Astley is now in and has enough reds on here to force a decider at this visit.
Hawkins looking to swoop and punish Gould - A miss from Martin Gould is giving Hawkins the upper hand here. He's currently just a couple of pots away from taking a 2-0 lead and it looks like Gould had struggled to bring himself back up from the Williams match earlier.
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| Hawkins fully punishes the error of Gould to double his lead. |
Burns completes remarkable win - Liam Highfield will want to forget that one in a hurry. On the break of 69 in the sixth he missed an easy enough red that would have kept Ian Burns in his seat. After getting the snooker though it was all Burns and that continued to the deciding frame. All credit to Burns because if I'm completely honest he was not really the better player but always held firm and showed a lot of bottle. Meanwhile, Barry Hawkins has taken the first frame against Martin Gould after Gould misses the pink twice despite not being snookered, and Gary Wilson did indeed take a scrappy fifth to lead Astley 3-2 and the sixth frame is going similarly scrappy with reds split but mostly safe on cushions.
Burns back from the dead - Ian Burns is back from the dead here after needing snookers to stay in the match. It was an excellent shot on the green to get it and then another two to pot green and brown on the way to the clearance. We have a decider on table 5. Gary Wilson meanwhile is looking good to lead 3-2 but is in a scrappy battle with Astley, and Gould and Hawkins are battling on the yellow in their opener which has come on table 4.
Century for Highfield - Excellent work from Liam Highfield there as he makes sure to jump all over the early error from Burns. An excellent break with some top potting throughout and it culminates in a 115 clearance for him to lead 3-2 and go one away from a second quarter final of the season.
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| Liam Highfield looks strong on the way to a 3-2 lead against Ian Burns |
Highfield level, Gary Wilson eyeing the same - Following a bit of a let off with Burns missing a black after an earlier error from Highfield, the left hander does enough to clinch the frame and he's back in again in the fifth looking to really press home and fully punish Burns. Wilson meanwhile has just levelled at 2-2 himself against Astley. Wilson there looking the more likely to score heavy if the chance comes.
Noppon Saengkham 4-0 Kyren Wilson - Wilson can count himself very unlucky in that final frame. He had Noppon in a nasty snooker, which the Thai missed on the first occasion but on the second he completed the swerve and potted the red landing on the yellow and setting up the clearance. He still needed to make a good pink for the win though and deserves to be through. The better player won there.
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| Noppon was too strong for Kyren Wilson and marches into the quarter-finals. |
Kyren still fighting - Despite his deficit Kyren is still fighting on in there but a big bounce kills his frame four break in the forties despite some good long balls beforehand. Astley meanwhile just got the upper hand on the final couple of reds and should move 2-1 ahead. Burns is in again after his frame winning break in the third following a tricky miss from Highfield, who was unfortunate not to land on something easy after a good pack opener.
Astley taking advantage - Astley looks to be gaining a bit of the advantage now against Gary Wilson, while Kyren Wilson has fallen 3-0 behind now after missing a tough final pink and later leaving it from range for Noppon who slots it calmly home. A missed long red for Highfield has left Burns in and he's now in a strong position to move 2-1 in front.
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| Ian Burns shows more of the form that overcame Neil Robertson as he leads Highfield 2-1 |
Burns levels, as does Astley - Highfield was a little unlucky there. Burns left the brown over the corner but with no route to get anywhere near the blue that was on the baulk cushion. Highfield leaves the blue at distance but Burns pots it and clears to square it up. Astley in bits and pieces towards the end has left Gary Wilson needing snookers while Noppon and Kyren are in a scrappy third frame.
Noppon doubles his lead, Burns looks to make first chance count - Burns has arrived at the first real chance for him in this match after a Highfield safety left Burns a red over the corner. Highfield's earlier 48 will be tough to surpass given where the yellow and brown are. Noppon though is taking advantage of Kyren not being at the races so far. Nothing vintage on that table really. Astley has his first decent chance on table three as he looks to level and where the balls are he should go a long way to doing so.
Highfield off and running again - Ian Burns missed a half chance at a red earlier in the frame and Highfield has pounced knocking in another good red from distance and he's certainly got his scoring boots on so far. Noppon has also just thundered in a long red and looks to have the upper hand on Kyren at the moment.
Gary Wilson and Noppon also lead - Eventually Noppon did take advantage of Kyrens errors while Gary compiled a very nice 88 to give him the opener against Astley and carry on from the match winning clearance this afternoon.
Highfield leads in style - Great start from Highfield on table 5. He made the break look easy and is clearly confident with his game right now. A run of 80 came to an end with a missed black which annoyed him because he wanted to keep Burns cold. Gary Wilson meanwhile is in first on table 3 with a decent scoring chance and Noppon is looking the more likely on table four after another frustrating miss for Kyren Wilson.
First chances for Highfield and Wilson - There's been some back and forth of opportunities on table 4 so far and just as I typed this head Wilson missed a black and allowed Noppon back to the table. Highfield is in first on table 5 and looking good so far with a stunning long pot to get things going against Burns.
An important night of action tonight and it could be nervy with lots on the line. On table 4 Kyren Wilson who really impressed me last night, takes on Noppon Saengkham who beat Judd Trump yesterday and missed a maximum chance this morning.
On table 3 John Astley faces Gary Wilson. Astley overcame Dominic Dale last night on table 2, and this morning came from 3-0 down to beat Gerard Greene. Wilson of course this afternoon beat Masters champion Mark Allen in a deciding frame.
Then on table 5 there is Liam Highfield who I focused on this morning beating Chris Wakelin 4-1 matching his 4-1 victory over Ding Junhui yesterday. Ian Burns also had a big win yesterday overcoming a near flawless Neil Robertson, before holding off Sunny Akani this afternoon.
Looking forward to bringing updates from all three games tonight in a similar format to last night. Stick with it and I hope you enjoy.
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