APTC1 Day 4

Stephen Lee has booked a spot in the semi-finals after wins
over Zhao Xingtong and Tian Pengfei

The field for APTC1 has been whittled down to the last four after the last 16 and quarter finals were played out today at Zhangjiagang.

Mark Williams was knocked out at the last 16 stage, with a 4-1 defeat to fellow Welshman Michael White. New tour player Chen Zhe knocked out his more experience opponent Tom Ford after a deciding frame, in a match he’d trailed 3-2. Stuart Bingham also booked a place in the last eight with a comfortable 4-0 win over Lin Shuai. Meanwhile, Ding Junhui scraped past Robert Milkins 4-3 whilst Stephen Lee beat Zhao Xingtong by the same scoreline. There were also last 16 wins for Ben Woollaston, Zhang Anda and Tian Pengfei.

The biggest match of the quarter finals was undoubtedly Stuart Bingham against local favourite Ding Junhui. Ding won the first two frames but Bingham fought back to win four of the last five frames to go through as 4-3 winner. Stephen Lee also progressed to the semis with a 4-2 victory over Tian Pengfei. Tian was 2-1 up after the first three frames but Lee knocked in breaks of 60, 112 and 63 to seal the win. The final remaining Chinese player in the tournament is Chen Zhe who recorded a surprise 4-0 win over Ben Woollaston. Finally, in the other quarter-final, a final frame decider was needed to separate Michael White and Zhang Anda, with the Welshman coming out victorious.

Tomorrow afternoon’s semis will see White take on Bingham whilst Lee plays Zhe, for a place in the evening’s final.