PTC Grand Finals - day 4

Stephen Maguire beat Ricky Walden after a nail biting final
frame decider to set up a semi-final against Neil Robertson

The PTC Grand Finals heated up on Saturday as the last eight vied for a spot in the semi-finals. The first match of the day was a cracker with Stephen Maguire squeezing past Ricky Walden after a final frame decider. Walden, who had received a bye through the last 16 after Ronnie O’Sullivan had withdrawn from the event due to illness, took the first frame with a break of 59 but his Scottish opponent hit back by winning the next three on the bounce. Maguire was in the balls in the fifth frame but missed the blue off the spot which allowed Walden to clear up with a 104 break and the Chester-born player forced a decider after winning the sixth, again after Maguire had missed. However, Maguire managed to halt the rot to ensure his place in the semi-finals.

In the second afternoon match, world number 1 Mark Selby was shocked by Stephen Lee who whitewashed the Jester from Leicester. A scrappy first frame was secured by the Trowbridge player before breaks of 57, 114 and 69 won him the next three frames to ease his way into the final four.

Andrew Higginson faced a tricky looking opponent in the form of Xiao Guodong in the first of the evening quarters. The Chinese man had already defeated Dominic Dale and Judd Trump with a broken hand but Higginson stood firm to record a 4-1 victory. Xiao won the first frame, partly thanks to a fluke on the pink late on but a number of mistakes in the next two frames saw Widnes’ Higginson go 2-1 up. The number 20 secured the fourth before missing a red to reprieve Xiao in the fifth but he also missed a red leaving Higginson to take the frame and safeguard his place in the semis.

The final match of the day saw Neil Robertson record a 4-1 victory over Joe Perry. ‘The Thunder from Down under’ won the first frame in style with a 131 break which equalised the tournament record set by Walden. Perry levelled with a 100 of his own but Robertson won the next frame to set up a tie with Maguire in the next round.