An intriguing quarter-final line-up lays in store on Friday with a mixture of previous World Champions, the two major winners so far this season and a couple of outsiders taking to the tables.
Anthony McGill v Thepchaiya Un-Nooh and Ali Carter v John Higgins open the first session
Arguably the tie of the round, Indian Open winner and form player on the circuit Anthony McGill meets the surprise package of the tournament Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. McGill found himself in deadlock with Matthew Selt before running away with the match in the final three frames, culminating in a contribution of 115. Un-Nooh followed up his stunning victory against World Champion Mark Selby with a whitewash of Alan McManus, scoring two century breaks in the process.
A friendly rivalry between Ali Carter and John Higgins will resume on Friday morning, with the pair meeting for the eighteenth time. Carter had to dig deep after finding himself 4-2 down against outsider Daniel Wells. A break of 130 set Carter up for an excellent comeback to reach the last eight. John Higgins also found himself behind against Mark Williams in a high quality contest. After dropping the opening two frames, the Scotsman hit back with five in a row, including the highest break of the tournament so far, a 144 contribution in frame five.
Neil Robertson v David Brown Gilbert and Shaun Murphy v Joe Perry conclude the day's play
Latvia Open winner Neil Robertson will play David Brown Gilbert with both players showing excellent form this week. Robertson dropped just his fourth frame of the competition in an impressive 5-1 victory over Ryan Day. His last eight opponent defeated Zhang Anda 5-0 and did not concede a point until frame four. Gilbert has dropped just two frames in three matches this week.
Reigning champion Shaun Murphy is another player to have barely been threatened to date in the tournament. He dropped just a third frame of the week in a 5-1 win against Kurt Maflin, scoring a half century break in each of his five frame wins. Joe Perry had to overcome an epic contest with Ben Woollaston, wining a final frame decider after neither player could take advantage.