Multiple-time ranking event champions make up semi-finals Saturday at the 2025 British Open

The British Open uses a random draw system for each round of the competition, meaning the sport’s top stars can face each other earlier on than they usually would elsewhere on the World Snooker Tour.

There have been several blockbuster ties during this year’s event, and three of the quarter-finalists were aiming to reach their maiden ranking final, but the last four in Cheltenham this weekend are all very familiar faces.

Reigning champion Mark Selby clearly loves playing in this event, and he is through to the semis for a third consecutive year after eliminating Mark Williams 5-3 during Friday’s quarter-finals schedule.

Runner-up in 2023, but champion in 2024, Selby is trying to create history this week by becoming the first player in British Open history to successfully defend the title. This is the 26th edition of the tournament.

Whilst Selby’s results in the sport’s biggest competitions have been disappointing in recent times, elsewhere on the circuit it has been a much better report. He has won three events within the past 12 months, and has now made semi-finals in back-to-back weeks after his efforts at the English Open in Brentwood.

On Saturday evening, Selby will face fellow Englishman Shaun Murphy, who has been arguably the player of the week, so far.

Murphy dismissed world number three Neil Robertson and world number one Judd Trump in consecutive sessions on Thursday, and he continued his pursuit of the £100,000 top prize and The Clive Everton Trophy with a 5-1 win over world number 91 Mitchell Mann.

Mann had a chance to counter in frame one after Murphy missed a black on 57, but he couldn't capitalise and left his opponent able to open his account.

Runs of 75 and 87 helped Murphy build a 3-0 lead, and although Mann got on the board in the fourth, 'The Magician' secured the two frames after the mid-session interval (breaks of 51 and 73) to advance.

Last month, Murphy's 19-year unbroken spell within the world's top 16 came to an end, but he has since crept back into the elite bracket. Although a Masters winner last January, Murphy has not won a ranking title - or made a final - since his triumph at the 2023 Championship League over two years ago.

The 43-year-old is also going for the 'ITV Career Slam' having also won the World Grand Prix (2016), Champion of Champions (2017), Players Championship (2023) and Tour Championship (2023) on the television station.

In terms of their head-to-head record, Selby holds the upper hand, including a world final win in 2021, and a 6-0 whitewash in their most recent meeting at the Shanghai Masters in July.

Higgins on track to become snooker’s oldest ranking champion

The evergreen John Higgins will break two records this week if he turns out to be the last man standing.

From 2-0 down against Louis Heathcote, Higgins strung together five frames in-a-row along with breaks of 86, 74, 66, 135 and 57 to advance into an 89th career ranking event semi-final.

Last season, Higgins came into this tournament positioned outside the world’s top 16 for the first time in over 29 years, but his run to the final - where he was denied by Selby - put him back in, and he hasn’t looked back since.

He ended a long wait for a ranked crown at the World Open in March, and backed that up with Tour Championship glory just a few weeks later. Despite having struggled for motivation this season, and been downbeat about his game, Higgins could now make it a hat-trick of titles inside seven months.

Overall victory this week would represent Higgins’ fifth British Open triumph, making him the most decorated player in the competition’s history, breaking him free of fellow four-time winner Stephen Hendry with whom he currently shares the record with.

It would also mean that 50-year-old Higgins would become professional snooker’s oldest-ever ranking event champion, breaking Ray Reardon’s near 43-year record for winning the 1982 Professional Players Championship when he was 50, too.

One guarantee this weekend is that the final will be an England v Scotland affair, as Higgins is due to face fellow Scot Anthony McGill in the final four on Saturday afternoon.

Former Indian Open and Shoot Out champion McGill is into his first ranking event semi-final in nearly three years after defeating teenager Stan Moody, 5-3.

Moody led 3-1, but McGill pieced a four-frame sequence after the interval - aided by runs of 61, 77 and 71 - for the verdict.

It has been a difficult few seasons on the baize for McGill who has slipped down the rankings; he came to this event 57th in the latest standings, so he will be hoping this week can spark a run of good form that gets him back up the ladder.

Two cueists who know each other very well, this will be their first encounter on the top flight in over seven-and-a-half years. On that occasion, McGill whitewashed Higgins 6-0 at the Players Championship.

Higgins does hold the better overall head-to-head record, though, including a win in a ranking final (2017 Indian Open).

Visit our 2025 British Open tournament information centre here for the draw, results, and details on the format, schedule, and prize money.