NI Open: Wilson and Williams stay on course for a Belfast final meeting
Kyren Wilson and Mark Williams, both former winners, came through their quarter-finals on Friday to keep a Belfast final between them alive. Wilson, ninth in the world, thrashed Anthony McGill 6-1 with runs of 77, 75 and 122; Williams, one place higher, saw off David Gilbert 6-4 with three successive centuries.
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Kyren Wilson e Mark Williams, ambos ex-campeões deste título, mantiveram viva a perspectiva de uma final em Belfast ao passarem pelas quartas de final nesta sexta-feira.
Wilson, nono do mundo, foi totalmente convincente à tarde no Waterfront Hall, despachando Anthony McGill por 6 a 1. Williams, um posto acima no ranking, precisou trabalhar mais à noite, superando David Gilbert por 6 a 4.
O campeão mundial de 2024 e atual detentor do NI Open abriu 4 a 0 contra o adversário escocês, com séries de 77, 75 e 122 pelo caminho.
McGill respondeu com 66, mas o inglês fechou com tranquilidade e agora está numa semifinal de evento ranqueado pela primeira vez desde março de 2025. Sam Craigie, outro inglês, está no caminho dele.
Craigie chegou à segunda semifinal ranqueada da carreira ao derrotar Elliot Slessor por 6 a 2, revertendo uma desvantagem inicial depois de Slessor abrir com 82 e perder cinco quadros seguidos.
A outra metade da chave produziu virada parecida. Gilbert liderava Williams por 3 a 1, com visitas de 62, 95 e 60, e os dois dividiram os dois quadros seguintes, até Williams emendar três centuries em quadros consecutivos e depois levar quatro seguidos para fechar o serviço.
Williams, tricampeão mundial com 51 anos e vencedor aqui em 2017, enfrenta Jak Jones, outro galês, na segunda semifinal de sábado.
Jones já levantou neste ano os troféus do British Open e da Championship League e superou Scott Donaldson por 6 a 5 num jogo dramático que avançou pela noite, com uma série de 84 no quadro decisivo definindo o resultado.
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