The quarter-finals of the 2025 Welsh Open are on Friday on the Venue Cymru with eight gamers within the draw nonetheless vying for the Ray Reardon Trophy.
5 of the remaining contenders know what it takes to win a rating occasion, with the opposite three hoping to realize the feat for the primary time of their careers.
There’s lots to play for throughout the following few days, with the races heating as much as see who can snatch a spot on the World Grand Prix and in addition who will land the Residence Nations sequence bonus.
Let’s check out the 4 upcoming matches within the quarter-finals on the 2025 Welsh Open.
Jackson Web page vs Luca Brecel
Luca Brecel beat Pang Junxu 4-1 within the final 16 on Thursday, changing into the final participant standing who can stop Neil Robertson from pocketing the Residence Nations prize.
A jackpot bonus value £150,000 is on supply for the participant who earns essentially the most throughout the 4 tournaments on the sequence.
Brecel, who is thru to solely his third rating quarter-final since successful the 2023 World Championship, must win the title to pinch the prize from the Australian.
The 29 year-old additionally wants to succeed in the ultimate this week if he’s to safe an unlikely spot on the 32-player World Grand Prix in March, the place qualification is predicated off the one-year rankings checklist.
Within the final eight of the Welsh Open, Brecel will encounter Jackson Web page who represents the only remaining dwelling competitor left within the draw.
Web page thumped Tom Ford with a whitewash show on day 4 to succeed in this stage of the competitors for the primary time.
Brecel and Web page have met on three events, with the previous boasting a 2-1 head-to-head benefit.
When is it? Friday, February 14th at 3pm UTC est. (follows the 12pm recreation)
Mark Selby vs John Higgins
Mark Selby and John Higgins have an extended historical past of necessary matches towards each other, so a Welsh Open quarter-final gained’t rank excessive up their checklist.
Nonetheless, the pair will likely be hoping to proceed their runs within the occasion as they chase down the £100,000 high prize.
Higgins is the document five-time Welsh Open champion and hasn’t misplaced a single body on the 2025 version to this point, successful all three of his ties with 4-0 scorelines.
Selby’s 2008 Welsh Open triumph represented his first in a rating occasion, and the 41 year-old’s confidence is excessive at current following his success at Championship League Snooker earlier this month.
Higgins and Selby are undoubtedly the brand new favourites for glory in Llandudno, making this a possible winner-takes-all conflict.
They final confronted one another within the closing of the British Open in September, when Selby overcame his fellow four-time world champion to bolster his superior head-to-head document.
When is it? Friday, February 14th at 12pm UTC
Jack Lisowski vs Stephen Maguire
Is that this lastly going to be the week when Jack Lisowski breaks his rating occasion duck?
The 2025 Welsh Open draw has considerably opened up for the 33 year-old with the likes of Kyren Wilson, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Shaun Murphy, and Mark Williams all absent from the underside half of the draw.
Lisowski has made seven century breaks within the 12 frames that he has gained within the occasion to date, so he’ll be a match for anyone if he can preserve that stage of scoring up.
Subsequent up for the six-time rating occasion runner-up is Stephen Maguire – a confirmed six-time rating occasion champion.
Maguire was as soon as one of many main forces of the sport however has struggled for kind in recent times, and this run represents his first to a quarter-final this season.
The 43 year-old wants to succeed in the semi-finals to safe a spot on the upcoming World Grand Prix, making certain that there’s a lot using on this showdown for each.
Within the Scot’s favour is a 6-1 head-to-head document over Lisowski, though they haven’t crossed paths for the reason that World Grand Prix in 2021.
When is it? Friday, February 14th at 7pm UTC
Ali Carter vs Joe O’Connor
Ali Carter started the 2024/25 marketing campaign with a bang by capturing the rating occasion version of Championship League Snooker.
However that is actually his first quarter-final look since then, the Captain beating Ryan Day 4-1 on Thursday to finish the Welshman’s hopes of a World Grand Prix berth.
Carter subsequent faces Joe O’Connor, who ousted Matthew Stevens by the identical margin to equally harm the hopes of a house winner in 2025.
O’Connor is chasing a maiden rating crown having beforehand come so shut at one other Residence Nations occasion, the Scottish Open in 2022 the place he contested the ultimate.
The 29 year-old is moreover making an attempt to qualify for the World Grand Prix, requiring a spot within the closing to ensure his ticket to Hong Kong.
Carter and O’Connor have performed one another solely as soon as earlier than – on the 2023 Gamers Championship when the previous got here out on high.
When is it? Friday, February 14th at 7pm UTC
Featured picture credit score: WST
