Snooker World Grand Prix 2016: Friday Results, Updated Draw and Reaction
Shaun Murphy, Joe Perry, Ding Junhui and Stuart Bingham all triumphed in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Snooker World Grand Prix on Friday.
Ding fought back from 3-1 down to beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, while Perry thrashed Ali Carter 4-1 in the afternoon session in Llandudno.
In the evening, Murphy beat Liang Wenbo in a 4-0 whitewash before Bingham edged out Ryan Day 4-2 in an exciting encounter.
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Here's a look at the results and the draw for the semi-finals:
| Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | 3-4 | Ding Junhui |
| Ali Carter | 1-4 | Joe Perry |
| Liang Wenbo | 0-4 | Shaun Murphy |
| Ryan Day | 2-4 | Stuart Bingham |
| Saturday, Mar 12 | Stuart Bingham vs. Joe Perry |
| Saturday, Mar 12 | Shaun Murphy vs. Ding Junhui |
Friday Recap
Un-Nooh drew first blood in style with a 97 clearance before Ding replied in kind as he cleared 92.
The Thai continued his excellent start and restored his lead with an 84 before moving within one frame of victory with another large break, per Live Snooker:
A 51 and 36 from Ding saw him pull one back at 3-2, and a 64 clearance in the sixth frame forced a decider. The momentum was firmly in the world No. 12's favour at that point, and he kept his cool in the final frame, as World Snooker revealed:
From there, there would be only one winner:
World Snooker provided the impressive stats from a high-quality encounter, while Pro Snooker Blog's Matt Huart was impressed by Ding:
The second match was one-sided, with Perry sweeping aside Carter in relative comfort. The pair exchanged frames before an outstanding 87 by the former took him ahead.
A break of 66 gave the 41-year-old a commanding lead in the tie, and unlike Un-Nooh, Perry made no mistake in closing out the victory.
According to Live Snooker, the Englishman was pleased with the win:
Liang got off to a promising start against Murphy as he made this outstanding pot early:
The China native got to 24 but, in contrast to his difficult pot earlier, missed a straightforward red to allow his opponent into the frame. Murphy proved to be more clinical and hit a 71 break before a missed black by Liang saw him concede the opener.
Another poor miss in the second allowed Murphy to double his lead, and a half-century made it 3-0 soon after. Liang's profligacy continued unabated in the final frame, and a 55 break was enough for his opponent to seal the victory.
Local favourite Day started brightly in his match against Bingham with a solid 60 clearance before the Englishman responded with the same break in the following frame.
The Welshman produced a sublime shot in the third as he moved ahead once again:
Bingham proved to be relentless, though, levelling the proceedings with a 63 and ruthlessly punishing a missed black by Day to move within one frame of the semi-finals.
Day took a 56-0 lead in the next frame, but an outstanding clearance to the pink—including this lovely sinking of the yellow—saw Bingham emerge triumphant:
He will take on Perry in the afternoon session on Saturday, while Ding will face Murphy in the evening.
All four produced some excellent snooker on Friday, so the semi-finals should be just as thrilling.
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