Snooker World Championship! The semifinal matchups are set, Zhao Xintong will face Murphy, and the match schedule is confirmed.

On April 26 Beijing time, the Snooker World Championship quarter-finals continued fiercely. The Chinese derby concluded, with Zhao Xintong displaying dominance in the third stage to eliminate Ding Junhui 13-9 and advance to the quarter-finals, keeping the Chinese team's hopes for the championship alive. His quarter-final opponent is Murphy, one of the "80s Five Tigers" and a Grand Slam champion. They will begin the first stage of their match on April 28. Currently, four quarter-final spots have been determined!

Zhao Xintong and Murphy share similarities; both fought through the qualifiers to win their first World Championship title. However, Zhao's achievement is even more remarkable as he won the championship as an amateur player. Zhao's form was not ideal in the early part of this season, but he experienced a major surge later, showcasing devastating accuracy and solid defense. He consecutively won three Players Series titles, becoming the hottest superstar currently and maintaining a 100% win rate in finals. As the defending champion, Zhao is now in peak form, having eliminated Hayfield and Ding Junhui to reach the quarter-finals!

Murphy is ranked eighth in the world and is one of the "80s Five Tigers." Although his ranking tournament titles are the lowest among the Five Tigers, Murphy has completed a Grand Slam. In this tournament, he has shown steady momentum, successively eliminating two Chinese players, Fan Zhengyi and Xiao Guodong, becoming the first to advance to the quarter-finals. He will challenge Zhao Xintong in the quarter-finals for a spot in the semifinals!

In three matches concluded earlier, Grand Slam champion Murphy displayed absolute dominance, crushing Xiao Guodong 13-3 with unstoppable momentum. Mark Allen and Hawkins both won with identical 13-9 scores. Thus, the semifinal matchups are set, with two pairings already confirmed: Mark Allen versus Hawkins, and Zhao Xintong versus Murphy—both are highlight matches!

Additionally, a special reminder: the specific schedule for the three stages of Zhao Xintong versus Murphy has been confirmed. The matches will take place on April 28 and 29. We hope Zhao Xintong can withstand the challenge, decisively teach "Big Mouth" Murphy a lesson, and strive for victory!

By Sports Novel