Scott Donaldson ended a six-year wait for a ranking quarter-final appearance, beating Antrim native Jordan Brown 4-2 at the Northern Ireland Open in a cagey encounter at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.
Northern Ireland Open (Credits: BBC Sport)
The world number 64 edged ahead three times before sealing the final frame, booking his place in the last eight — his first ranking quarter-final since the 2020 edition of this very event.
Brown Out of NI Open After Donaldson Defeat in Cagey 4-2 Clash
Donaldson took a tight opener, Brown levelled, and the Scot then won the next two frames to move within one of victory. Brown refused to go quietly, clawing back the fifth to keep the contest alive, but Donaldson held his nerve to close it out.
It was not pretty, by Donaldson’s own admission. “I get more enjoyment out of the playing aspect of the game, so it wasn’t totally enjoyable tonight,” he told BBC Sport NI. “Playing Jordan is hard and then the table was really, really tough as the pockets were so tight… I’m OK in patches but just all that made for a tough evening.”
Williams, Jones, Gilbert and Wilson Reach Last Eight
Elsewhere, Jak Jones held off a late fightback from Daniel Wells to progress 4-2. Three-time world champion Mark Williams produced a commanding 4-0 win over Martin O’Donnell, compiling breaks of 58 and 127.
David Gilbert also advanced, beating Kai Wai Cheung — the man who stunned Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round. And in Thursday’s earlier session, Kyren Wilson edged a final-frame decider against Junxu Pang as he chases his first ranking title since his Players Championship win over Judd Trump in March 2025.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.