Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy both came through hard-fought quarter-finals on Wednesday to ensure three of the last four players left vying for this year’s world snooker crown are former champions.
Bingham, the 2015 world champion, edged out Anthony McGill 13-12.
Meanwhile, 2005 title-winner Murphy defeated current world number one Judd Trump, who took the title two years ago, 13-11.
Those matches were in marked contrast to the two quarter-finals completed earlier at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre on Wednesday.