A preview of Thursday's quarter-final matches at the 2025 World Open snooker event in China

It has already been a chaotic few days of action at the Yushan Sports Centre, with several of snooker’s top stars - including World Champion Kyren Wilson, and world number one and defending champion here Judd Trump - shown the exit door relatively early on.

At this last eight stage, half of the cueists still in contention for the trophy are from the world’s elite top 16 rankings. We take a look at the draw and how the quarter-final matches will shape up.

Top half of draw: Shaun Murphy on course for first ranking event title of season

Only one player from the top 10 of the world rankings has made it through to the quarter-finals of this year's World Open - Shaun Murphy.

The world number eight and recently crowned Masters champion Murphy has been irresistible for much of this week, relinquishing only two frames across three matches and compiling a maximum 147 break along the way. He eliminated home hero Ding Junhui 5-2 in the last 16 on Wednesday.

Murphy is aiming to reach his second ranking event semi-final of the season but will have a stern test against the in-form Joe O'Connor who has made it back-to-back last eight appearances on tour.

A quarter-finalist at the recent Welsh Open, 29-year-old O'Connor ended reigning champion Judd Trump's 16-match World Open winning streak in the last 32 earlier this week.

These two have played each other three times on the pro tour with the head-to-head reading 3-0 to Murphy, but their last duel was in 2021, with O’Connor being a far more established player these days.

Despite a lot of carnage for the world's elite players in this tournament, there is an all-top 16 encounter in the quarter-finals as Ali Carter meets Barry Hawkins.

After winning the season-opening Championship League back in the summer, it had been a quiet campaign for Carter, but business has picked up again for him in recent weeks with a last four finish earlier this month in Llandudno.

Carter won the 2016 World Open - the first time the event was staged in Yushan.

Barry Hawkins has been knocking on the door of another ranking title over the past few months, losing to Trump in the final of the UK Championship 10-8, and to Kyren Wilson 10-9 in the German Masters title match.

Arguably the two greatest players in the history of snooker not to have (yet) won a Triple Crown event, their meetings at ranking events have been surprisingly rare, with this set to be only their seventh dance under such circumstances. Carter is 5-1 up on that count.

Bottom half of draw: John Higgins three wins away from ending trophy wait

It is over four years since John Higgins last won a ranking event. His last appearance in a final of a Chinese event was in 2018, and 2016 was the last time he lifted a trophy in the country. However, the four-time World Champion could end all those waits later this week.

49-year-old Higgins does not lack heart and determination in the heat of battle, and he showed that during his last 16 fixture as he recovered from 4-2 down to oust Zhou Yuelong, 5-4.

Higgins will meet another talented opponent from the host nation on Thursday when he comes up against Pang Junxu.

After whitewashing Anthony McGill 5-0 earlier this week, Pang has since seen off compatriots Tian Pengfei and Xu Si.

The world number 27 has been very consistent this season and is seemingly improving all the time. A former ranking event finalist, Pang is aiming to become the latest new champion from China.

Higgins and Pang have only played competitively once before, three years ago when the latter won 4-1 in the opening round of the Welsh Open. However, the variables have changed since then.

World number 89 Zak Surety is the lowest ranked player left in the competition and is enjoying his best-ever run at a professional tournament.

Surety - who memorably made a 147 break against Ding here last year - is into his first quarter-final on snooker’s top tier, and he is already guaranteed to collect £22,000 which is over double his previous best payday on the circuit.

Even before these main stages, Surety wrote headlines as he swept aside Si Jiahui 5-0 in the ‘qualifying’ round in England before Christmas. In Yushan, he survived back-to-back deciding frame finishes across the last 64 and 32.

Looking to end Surety’s streak is Shoot Out Champion Tom Ford, who is just one of two players left in - along with Carter - who has tasted ranking event success this season.

Following a fairly disastrous first half to the season, Ford has found momentum again which was sparked by his maiden ranking trophy at the Shoot Out. It has been hard work for Ford this week with 5-4, 5-3 and 5-3 verdicts going his way.

Ford leads the head-to-head score over Surety, 3-0 (their last waltz together came in 2021) but like other aforementioned quarter-final matches taking place, Surety is a more dangerous prospect now.

The 2025 World Open quarter-final draw and when the matches are played:

06:00GMT start

• Pang Junxu v John Higgins
• Zak Surety v Tom Ford

11:30GMT

• Ali Carter v Barry Hawkins
• Joe O’Connor v Shaun Murphy

All quarter-final matches are the best of nine frames with a scheduled mid-session interval after the fourth frame.

For the 2025 World Open draw and results, please visit our tournament information centre here.