Judd Trump kept up his incredible streak of reaching at least the quarter-finals of every tournament he has contested in 2024 as he beat Barry Hawkins 4-2 in the last 16 of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
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By far the most consistent player on the tour and the runaway world number one, Trump has now reached the last eight of 15 consecutive tournaments this year. He has won four of those, reached two other finals and banked over £1.5 million in prize money.
Bristol's Trump is defending the title in Belfast and has lifted the trophy four times since 2018. Breaks of 69, 63 and 105 helped him beat Hawkins tonight and set up a blockbuster clash with Shaun Murphy at 7pm on Friday at the Waterfront Hall.
Neil Robertson is another player on form, having landed the BetVictor English Open last month, and is just three wins away from becoming the first player to have lifted all four Home Nations trophies. The Australian eased to a 4-1 win over Oliver Lines with top breaks of 76, 65, 53 and 107.
"It's nice to keep the progress ticking over this week," said Robertson, who now meets Pang Junxu. "There is extra motivation as it's the last one I need to complete the Home Nations set. Whenever the calendar comes out it's a tournament I look forward to."
Louis Heathcote, enjoying the best run of his career so far, beat Tian Pengfei 4-2 to reach his second ranking event quarter-final, the only previous one coming at the 2021 Shoot Out. Breaks of 72, 87, 80 and 57 helped the Leicester cueman to a fine win over China's Tian.
"I have got stronger as the week has gone on and I am delighted to get this far," said 27-year-old Heathcote. "I made a big clearance to go 2-2 tonight and felt very focussed. I didn't miss much under pressure. I've had two days before this match, it was a lot of time to think about it and play things out in my head. This afternoon I was nervous, but once I got out there I was relaxed. Tomorrow I want to try to enjoy the occasion more."
He will now meet Elliot Slessor, who reached the ninth ranking event quarter-final of his career with a 4-1 win over Lei Peifan.
Friday's quarter-finals:
12pm
Neil Robertson v Pang Junxu
Not before 2pm
Kyren Wilson v Mark Williams
7pm
Judd Trump v Shaun Murphy
Louis Heathcote v Elliot Slessor
