World No.1 John Higgins, Ken Doherty, Shaun Murphy and Ding Junhui advanced to the semi-finals yesterday after clinching convincing wins yesterday.
In today’s semi-finals, Higgins will be meeting Doherty while Murphy is to face Junhui.
Higgins and Doherty were the first to reach the last four.
For Higgins, it will be his first semi-final since his great run in Sheffield last year after securing the points he needed against Joe Perry.
The Group 1 winner went into the match knowing that a draw would be enough to book his place in the last four but he eventually came through to win 5-1.
Doherty then beat Australian Neil Robertson 5-1 later in the afternoon to earn his berth in the last four.
Doherty won his confidence after winning the opening frame. He then went on to win the next two frames to assure himself of a place in the semi-finals (a draw was enough for him to progress). In the fourth frame he rolled in a break of 81 to make it 4-0 before Robertson was able to show a glimpse of his form with a 74 that helped him clinch the only frame of the afternoon. Doherty won the final frame to make it a 5-1 scoreline.
In the third session, Shaun Murphy became the third semi-finalist after a 5-1 win over Stephen Hendry. Murphy needed only to draw to advance, but finally emerged on top after clinching a decisive second frame. Hendry had won the fourth frame to make it 3-1, but by then it was all over already.
Later in the evening, Ding Junhui also moved into the last four as he beat Mark Williams 6-0, despite needing only a draw to qualify.
In the other match in Group 1 Ryan Day recorded his first win of the Malta Cup when he beat Ali Carter 4-2. And in the other Group 2 match, Stephen Lee defeated Joe Swail 5-1. The other Group 3 clash between Maguire and Selby ended in a 3-3 draw. In the last Group 4 match Peter Ebdon beat Graham Dott 4-2.
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Yesterday’s results
Group 1: John Higgins-Joe Perry 5-1; Allister Carter-Ryan Day 2-4
Group 2: Ken Doherty-Neil Robertson 5-1; Joe Swail-Stephen Lee 1-5
Group 3: Shaun Murphy-Stephen Hendry 5-1; Stephen Maguire-Mark Selby 3-3
Group 4: Graeme Dott-Peter Ebdon 2-4; Mark Williams-Ding Junhui 0-6
Today’s semi-finals
(best of 11 frames)
3pm: J. Higgins-K. Doherty
8pm: S. Murphy-D. Junhui