Reigning world champion Stuart Bingham is into the quarter-finals of the 2016 China Open after an afternoon of quality play on Thursday at the Beijing University Students' Gymnasium.
Bingham produced a superb performance to topple Rod Lawler, 5-2, to waltz through, while Mark King and Alfie Burden were also very impressive in their respective victories. The fourth winner from the opening stanza on Thursday was Ricky Walden, who overcame Tian Pengfei, 5-4, in a gripping clash.
John Higgins and Judd Trump joined them in the quarter-finals after the pair cruised to routine wins during the evening session, beating David Gilbert and Marco Fu, respectively. Stephen Maguire also kept his Crucible chances alive, beating Dominic Dale, 5-1. Noppon Saengkham booked his quarter-final spot with a shock win over Graeme Dott.
Here are the results, the matches to come and a more detailed rundown of how things panned out on another intriguing day at this tournament.
| Afternoon Session | ||
| Stuart Bingham | 5-2 | Rod Lawler |
| Mark King | 5-0 | Martin O'Donnell |
| Alfie Burden | 5-1 | Rory McLeod |
| Tian Pengfei | 4-5 | Ricky Walden |
| Evening Session | ||
| Dominic Dale | 1-5 | Stephen Maguire |
| John Higgins | 5-3 | David Gilbert |
| Judd Trump | 5-1 | Marco Fu |
| Noppon Saengkham | 5-1 | Graeme Dott |
| Afternoon Session | ||
| Ricky Walden | vs. | Stuart Bingham |
| John Higgins | vs. | Noppon Saengkham |
| Evening Session | ||
| Judd Trump | vs. | Mark King |
| Stephen Magauire | vs. | Alfie Burden |
Thursday Recap
With the World Championships edging closer and closer into view, Bingham will have been delighted with his efforts at the China Open so far. His brilliant form continued as he booked a quarter-final spot.
Lawler did look as though he was going to make things tough for Bingham in this one, as he recovered from two frames down to level at 2-2. But once the match settled down, the Basildon potter moved into a different gear, rattling off three frames in a row to take the victory.
While a lot of players may have one eye on the World Championships—the reigning champion would certainly be forgiven for doing so—there’s still plenty for Bingham to play for in this one, aside from the title itself.
Matt from ProSnookerBlog noted that the 39-year-old could become world No. 1 if his positive run continues:
No player has looked better during the China Open than Trump, who raced to another easy win on Thursday, this time against the equally impressive Fu. Juddernaut's 2016 season has been a major disappointment so far, but the 26-year-old is playing his best snooker at the right time and seems ready to challenge for his first world title.
Four-time world champion Higgins needed eight frames to get past Gilbert, scoring breaks of 115 and 91 in the process. The two put on an impressive show, and Higgins acknowledged he didn't have it easy on Thursday, per World Snooker's official website:
David had a couple of chances to go 2-0 up but I managed to win the second frame and that changed the match. He’s one of the best ball strikers on the tour and he made some great breaks. He had a chance to make it 4-4 but I won that last frame on the colours so I was very happy to do that.
For the last few days I’ve been suffering from a bad back. I have been for some treatment here which has really helped.
Maguire's 5-1 win over Dale wasn't as close, setting up a quarter-final meeting with Burden. As shared by Matt from Pro Snooker Blog, there will be plenty on the line for Maguire in that match, with the cutoff for the world championship taking place after the China Open:
Saengkham continues to amaze, and his win over Dott set up a tantalising quarter-final against snooker legend Higgins.
One man who is playing exceptionally well this week is Burden, who raced to another victory on Thursday, putting Rory McLeod to the sword by a 5-1 scoreline.
Throughout the week, Burden has been making some substantial scores, including breaks of 117 and 116. And he scored heavily again in this one, making it through to his first ranking-event quarter-final at a relative canter.
David Caulfield of SnookerHQ has been impressed:
After eliminating Shaun Murphy on Wednesday evening, there was confidence oozing from King as he took to the table on Thursday and overpowered Martin O’Donnell in a 5-0 whitewash.
It’s been a brilliant week for the man from Romford so far, as he continues to chase his first ranking-tournament win.
As noted by Live Snooker, this is a competition King seems to relish, although he’s set to face a tough test in the last eight:
In the last match of the session, it was Walden who emerged victorious in a gripping battle, with Pengfei losing his nerve late in the deciding frame.
After recovering from 4-2 down to take this one to the wire, the momentum was with the Chinese player in Frame 9. And just when he had a chance to clinch the decider, he missed a rudimentary black, allowing Walden a route back into the frame and, ultimately, the chance to close out what was a fascinating match.
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