Brown to face Allen at NI Open after Murphy win
Mark Allen's English Open success last month was his 12th triumph in a ranking event
- Published
Mark Allen will face fellow home favourite Jordan Brown in the quarter-finals of the Northern Ireland Open after a 4-1 win over Aaron Hill in Thursday's third round in Belfast.
Allen punished a mistake from Republic of Ireland player Hill in the first frame at the Waterfront Hall, before knocking in a break of 137.
Hill, a three-time ranking event quarter-finalist, responded with breaks of 24 and 65 to level in the second frame, before Allen won the next three frames to ease into the last eight.
The world number eight will come up against fellow Antrim man Brown, who defeated the in-form Shaun Murphy 4-2 in their last-16 encounter, in the next round.
Brown raced into a three-frame lead but Murphy fought back with two frames in a row, which included a break of 135.
However, the home favourite came out on top in a tense sixth frame to book his place in the last eight.
Elsewhere, Judd Trump and Tom Ford booked their spots in the quarter-finals with victories over Gary Wilson and Yuan Sijun.
World number one Trump, who is seeking his fifth Northern Ireland Open title, secured a 4-1 win over Wilson while Ford beat Yuan 4-2.
In the evening session, defending champion Kyren Wilson beat He Guoqiang 4-2 and Jack Lisowski beat Thepchaiya Uh-Noo 4-2.
Ali Carter withdrew from the event for personal reasons and Yuelong Zhou progressed to the next round.
Third round results
Judd Trump 4-1 Gary Wilson
Yuan Sijun 2-4 Tom Ford
Si Jiahui 1-4 John Higgins
Mark Allen 4-1 Aaron Hill
Shaun Murphy 2-4 Jordan Brown
Kyren Wilson 4-2 He Guoqiang
Thepchaiya 2-4 Jack Lisowski
Yuelong Zhou received a bye after Ali Carter withdrew from the tournament
Quarter-final draw
Judd Trump v John Higgins
Kyren Wilson v Jack Lisowski
Mark Allen v Jordan Brown
Tom Ford v Yuelong Zhou