The Shenzhen Open continued to deliver surprise results on Thursday as Kyren Wilson and Neil Robertson were both eliminated in the last 16.
Wilson suffered a 5-2 defeat against Michael Holt, who reached his first ranking quarter-final in nearly two years. Holt had whitewashed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-0 on Wednesday before producing a strong display against the 2024 world champion, helped by breaks of 126, 54, 84 and 84.
The loss is significant for Wilson, who won this event in its previous guise, the Xi’an Grand Prix, two years ago. With the points from 2024 dropping off, his world ranking is expected to take a hit, while Holt, currently world number 46, will climb the rankings and now faces either Yuan Sijun or Zak Surety in the quarter-finals.
Robertson also falls
Robertson was the other former world champion to exit in the Thursday afternoon session, losing 5-2 to Chris Wakelin. Although Wakelin is ranked 12th in the world, making it less of an upset than Holt’s win, it remains a significant result for the Englishman, who has impressed this week.
Wakelin had recorded three consecutive centuries in his opening win over Liam Davies and then beat Stuart Bingham 5-0 in the last 32. He will now be favourite in his quarter-final against Jimmy Robertson, who defeated Scott Donaldson 5-0 on Thursday.
Draw opens up
The unusual quarter-final line-up follows a series of early shocks, with Zhao Xintong, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams all beaten on the opening day. John Higgins, Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong also exited on Tuesday.
Several top players remain in the bottom half of the draw, including Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy and world champion Wu Yize. The winner of Sunday’s final will take home the £177,000 top prize, a career-changing opportunity for the underdogs still in contention.
This season has already produced surprise winners, with Jak Jones claiming the first two ranking titles of his career at the Championship League and British Open. Ali Carter also won last month’s English Open at 47 years old, a result few expected, including Carter himself.
