From Bangkok to Beijing: Day Five News

So we now know the final line-ups for both of the tournaments currently underway over in Asia, click below to find out which four players will be in action tomorrow…

Beijing International Challenge – (click for results)

Tomorrow’s final will be contested between world number two Stephen Maguire and local favourite Liang Wenbo after both came through potentially tough semi-final matches today.  First to make it through was Liang who perhaps surprisingly took a comfortable 5-1 victory over Mark Allen, while Maguire clinched a tight eighth frame against countryman Stephen Hendry to complete a 5-3 victory.

The final will be a tough one to call as both appear to be playing some excellent snooker this week, though heading into the match undefeated it is probably Maguire who has the edge. As the local favourite however, Liang will certainly have the crowd behind him and it has all the hallmarks of a classic.

The Final is:

Liang Wenbo v Stephen Maguire

Sangsom 6-Red World Grand Prix – (click for results, draw and more)

Over in Bangkok, today has seen both the quarter-finals and the semi-finals of the Sangsom 6-Red World Grand Prix come to a conclusion and tomorrow’s final will be contested between Jimmy White and Barry Hawkins.

Jimmy, who defeated Shaun Murphy and defending champion Ricky Walden yesterday to reach this stage, continued his excellent week by coming back from 3-0 down against the in-form Mark King to eventually complete a narrow 7-6 victory in the quarter-finals, before repeating the feat against Mark Williams later on.

Barry Hawkins meanwhile also launched a comeback to end the hopes of Thailand’s James Wattana from 3-1 down in the quarter-finals, before impressively beating Judd Trump by a comfortable 7-2 scoreline. Judd was my tip for the title yesterday and he looked to be doing me proud when he defeated world champion John Higgins early on today, but Barry must have played really well to stop him in the semis.

The Final is:

Jimmy White v Barry Hawkins