Feature image: Wikimedia Commons File:Billiard_room_at_Olveston_Historic_Home_in_Dunedin,_New_Zealand.jpg — Tamsin Braisher, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Two more former world champions are out of the Shenzhen Open before lunchtime London — and the quarter-final board is already looking unusual. Elsewhere in Bali, Vietnam added another Aramith Men’s Open scalp as Phạm Phương Nam edged European champion Mario He.
Shenzhen Open: Holt & Wakelin dump world champs; Selby through
Thursday’s last-16 session at Bao’an Sports Centre kept serving shocks.
- Michael Holt beat Kyren Wilson 5–2 — Holt’s first ranking quarter-final in almost two years after yesterday’s 5–0 over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Breaks of 126, 54, 84 and 84 did the damage; Wilson, who won this event in its Xi’an Grand Prix guise two years ago, takes a ranking hit as those points roll off.
- Chris Wakelin beat Neil Robertson 5–2 — another former world champion gone. Wakelin had already hammered Stuart Bingham 5–0 in the last 32 and now sits favourite for a 19th ranking quarter-final.
- Jimmy Robertson blanked Scott Donaldson 5–0 and books a quarter-final with Wakelin.
- Mark Selby beat Stephen Maguire 5–3 — the China Open winner keeps rolling and waits for Judd Trump or Si Jiahui.
Still in play or yet to post as London hit midday: Yuan Sijun vs Zak Surety (Holt’s quarter-final opponent), plus the evening half — Trump–Si Jiahui, Shaun Murphy–Elliot Slessor, Ricky Walden–Wu Yize. Sunday’s winner takes £177,000.
Bali Aramith Men’s: Nam Pham dumps Mario He
At the Predator Pro Billiard Series in Nusa Dua, Vietnam’s Phạm Phương Nam beat Austria’s Mario He 2–1 in the Aramith Men’s Open — another SE Asian win on a floor that already saw Dương Quốc Hoàng shove Fedor Gorst into the losers’ bracket earlier today. The $150,000 10-ball field (128 players) runs through 5 October alongside the Women’s Worlds and Men’s Doubles.
Also on the board
Women’s Worlds (Bali): Last-sixteen single-elimination is the next headline once tables clear — overnight losers’ qualification locked the field (Seo, Centeno, Tkach, Amit, Wei, Easton, Chou, Kanjaya and the rest). Live scores via Pro Billiard Series / CueScore; streams on Pro Billiard TV.
WPA Blackball Worlds: The British Pool Federation hosts the WPA Blackball World Championship at the Thistle Hotel Heathrow, London, 20–28 October — nations gathering for the sport’s premier blackball week (men’s/women’s and age categories expected as entries firm up).
Where to watch
- Shenzhen Open — WST / TNT Sports / Eurosport / WST Play (and regional partners)
- Bali Women’s Worlds, Men’s Doubles & Aramith Men’s Open — Pro Billiard TV + PBS/CueScore live scores
- Blackball Worlds (from 20 Oct) — WPA / BPF updates as broadcast confirmed
Sources: snooker.org / Metro (Shenzhen L16); 24h.com.vn (Nam Pham–Mario He); WPA / BlackBall SA (Blackball Worlds Heathrow); Pro Billiard Series Bali.
