Wilson and Williams reach Northern Ireland Open snooker semi-finals

Two former winners of the Northern Ireland Open, a ranking snooker tournament for professionals held in Belfast, secured semi-final places on Friday. England's Kyren Wilson and Wales's Mark Williams both won their quarter-finals, keeping alive the prospect of meeting in the final.

Wilson, ranked ninth in the world, beat Scotland's Anthony McGill 6-1 in the afternoon session at the Waterfront Hall. Wilson won both the world title and the NI Open in 2024. He moved into a 4-0 lead with breaks of 77, 75 and 122. McGill took one frame with a run of 66, but Wilson closed out the match. It is his first ranking-event semi-final since March 2025, and he will face fellow Englishman Sam Craigie.

Craigie beat Elliot Slessor 6-2 to reach only the second ranking-event semi-final of his career. Slessor led early after an 82 break, but Craigie won five frames in a row.

Williams fights back against Gilbert

Williams, who is ranked one place higher than Wilson, beat David Gilbert 6-4 in the evening session. Gilbert led 3-1 with breaks of 62, 95 and 60. After the two shared the next pair of frames, Williams made centuries in three consecutive frames and won four in a row to take the match.

Williams is 51 years old, a three-time world champion and the 2017 NI Open winner. He will play fellow Welshman Jak Jones in Saturday's second semi-final.

Jones has already won the British Open and the Championship League this season. He edged Scott Donaldson 6-5 in a late-night quarter-final, with an 84 break in the deciding frame.