English Open 2023: Youngster Liu Hongyu beats Ding Junhui to set up Zhang Anda semi-final

Liu Hongyu signalled a changing of the guard in Chinese snooker with a statement win over Ding Junhui at the English Open.

Ding is the greatest Chinese snooker player of all time, and has competed at the highest level since a UK Championship success in 2005.

But his level has dipped in recent seasons, and he was outpointed by a player in his first season as a professional.

Ding cut a frustrated figure – and there were rare shows of emotion that led to a warning from the referee – as Liu wrapped up a 5-2 win to book his place in the semi-finals.

The opening frame had more drama than quality, with both players struggling for rhythm. It turned both ways, with Ding seemingly having the upper hand on the final red only to stick it over the green pocket after a terrible shot with the rest.

First-season professional Liu picked off the balls he needed, taking a 43-minute frame with a high break of 22.

Ding soon found himself two frames behind his teenage compatriot.

Liu had a good run of the balls in the second, and it put pressure on his countryman. Ding attempted to press the issue but an audacious plant failed to drop – and it left him to trudge back to his seat at 2-0 down.

Ding’s frustrations increased in the third, as he ran out of position and banged his cue into the floor.

His mood was not improved when running out of position once again a short while later – leading to a thump of the table with his fist and a warning as to his conduct by referee Terry Camilleri.

To his credit, Ding played on in the third when needing snookers – possibly to compose himself – and he tested his young opponent who made a series of successful escapes before closing out the frame.

Ding was looking for a foothold, and a couple of good pots got him going in the fourth as he crafted a half-century. He failed to close the frame out in one visit and Liu briefly threatened a comeback – but the winner of 14 ranking titles took the fourth to get on the board.

Ding was seen on the practice table during the interval, indicating a need and a desire to find something in his game.

Whatever he was looking for he did not find, as his struggles continued upon the resumption.

Liu was not firing on all cylinders, but Ding kept handing him chances – and a series of poor shots allowed the 19-year-old to get within one frame of the winning line.

The screen displaying Ding’s name went dark towards the end of the fifth frame, and as David Hendon said on Eurosport commentary it felt like a metaphor for his evening.

The monitor remained blank, but a spark was lit in Ding in the sixth as he produced some fluency to take it in a shade over seven minutes to cut the gap to two.

Ding’s resurgence looked set to continue and he had frame-ball blue in the seventh, but it wriggled in the jaws of the yellow pocket and Liu countered with a gritty clearance of 57 – knocking in a blue to the pocket that Ding could not – to book his passage to the semi-finals.

Liu will play Ronnie O’Sullivan’s conqueror Zhang Anda in the semi-finals following his 5-4 win over Zhou Yuelong.