Yize

World champion Wu Yize fell in the third round of the English Open as Liam Davies scored an eye-catching 4-1 victory in Brentwood.

Welsh prospect Davies, 20, opened up a 3-0 lead on his way to the first ranking event quarter-final of his career, helped by a break of 105 in the second frame, then completed his victory as China’s Wu struggled to find his dynamic best form.

Tantalisingly, Davies will face compatriot Mark Williams, the three-time world champion, in the last eight on Friday evening.

Williams, still a major force on the baize at the age of 51, had breaks of 76, 103 and 63 in a late-night 4-1 victory over England’s Barry Hawkins.

Mark Selby, who was runner-up at last week’s British Open and won the China Open in August, had his hopes of reaching another final ended by a 4-3 defeat against fellow former world champion Kyren Wilson.

Selby led 2-0 in the all-English tussle after an early break of 112 but then lost the next three frames. He dragged himself level, but Wilson trebled in the yellow to effectively make sure of victory in the decider.

England’s Judd Trump, newly deposed as world number one, edged a tense decider against Scot Anthony McGill to take a 4-3 victory.

Trump will face a quarter-final against Shaun Murphy who was taken the distance after midnight by Pang Junxu before racing through the deciding frame with a 103 break.

Ali Carter had a highest break of 75 as he completed a 4-2 win over Gong Chenzhi, Zhou Yuelong made a 141 in his 4-2 victory over Chinese compatriot Yuan Sijun, and Ding Junhui beat Joe O’Connor 4-1.

World champion Wu Yize set up an intriguing second-round tie against former Crucible winner Kyren Wilson at the British Open after both won their opening matches.

China’s Wu beat compatriot Liu Hongyu 4-3 in Cheltenham, while 2024 world champion Wilson was a 4-1 winner against Austria’s Florian Nuessle.

Last year’s British Open champion Shaun Murphy was joined by Ding Junhui, Barry Hawkins, Judd Trump and John Higgins in progressing to the second round.

However, three-time world champion Mark Williams lost 4-0 to David Gilbert, world number two Neil Robertson fell 4-1 to Pang Junxu, and 2023 world champion Luca Brecel fell 4-3 to Chris Wakelin.

Mark Joyce, who replaced Ronnie O’Sullivan after the seven-time world champion withdrew because of medical reasons, beat Poland’s Mateusz Baranowski 4-1.

New world number one Zhao Xintong, the first Chinese player to become world champion in 2025, will play his opening-round match against England’s Oliver Brown on Tuesday.

Zhao reached the final of the Wuhan Open last week, securing the top ranking spot in the process, only to lose 10-7 to countryman Chang Bingyu in the title match.

The British Open uses a random draw for each round, with no seeds, meaning high-profile names can face each other early in the tournament.