Welsh Open 2023 LIVE - Robert Milkins faces Tian Pengfei in first semi-final, Shaun Murphy v Pang Junxu to follow

It’s semi-finals day at the Welsh Open, with Shaun Murphy, Robert Milkins, Tian Pengfei and Pang Junxu doing battle for spots in the final in Llandudno. While Murphy was a shade below the sizzling level he produced in beating Daniel Wells in the round of 16, he proved much too good for Yuan SiJun. Ad His reward is a clash with Pang on Saturday evening, after he edged out Joe O’Connor in a drawn-out affair.

Welsh OpenAllen tumbles out of Welsh Open after below-par display in 5-1 loss to Milkins14 HOURS AGO Milkins’ fine season continued with a 5-1 win over Mark Allen, dashing the latter’s hopes of winning the £150,000 BetVictor Bonus and keeping his own alive. The Milkman will kick off the afternoon session against Tian, the conqueror of Ronnie O’Sullivan. Join us for live coverage from Venue Cymru from 12:45pm, as Milkins and Tian do battle.

Saturday's semi-finals schedule 13:00 Robert Milkins v Tian Pengfei 19:00 Pang Junxu v Shaun Murphy Tough time for Ronnie — bites off tip in frustration O'Sullivan's defeat to Tian ended his hopes of reaching next week's Players Championship. It was a frustrating week for the world champion, who saw his tip come off in two of his matches. With next week free, Jimmy White revealed in the Eurosport studio that O'Sullivan's cue will be heading to the repair shop.

“He was speaking to John Parris who is in Barbados on holiday, and he said he needs a new ferrule, not just a new tip,” White said. “We think the tip kept coming off because the ferrule was not level. “I know that if he did not qualify for the tournament next week (the Players Championship) the cue was being sent to John Parris on Monday." Read the full story here.