London (UK), January 16: Chinese debutant Yan Bingtao reached the Snooker Masters semifinals after edging Stephen Maguire 6-5 on Friday.
Yan, 20, qualified for the prestigious invitation tournament for the first time with a personal best world ranking of 11. After beating Australian ace Neil Robertson and Maguire in a row, he became the youngest Masters semifinalist since Ding Junhui made the last four during a run to the final at the age of 19 in 2007.
"I'm absolutely over the moon and really excited about the result. At the beginning I didn't expect to get through the first round, now I am in the semifinals," Yan told the World Snooker Tour website.
Yan started the game with a lead of 2-0, but world number eight Maguire took the following three frames in a row. The duo then drew three times before Yan fired a break of 141 in the deciding frame.
"I won both matches on the deciding frame, so that is an achievement for me," said Yan who saw off Robertson by the same scoreline.
The Chinese hopeful will face defending champion Stuart Bingham in the last four.
This year's Masters opened in Milton Keynes, England on Sunday. This the first year the tournament has been held outside London, as organizers were forced to make the change due to COVID-19 restrictions.
World number one Judd Trump and the 14th-ranked Jack Lisowski both withdrew from the tournament after having tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of their matches.
Elsewhere, China's top player Ding lost to six-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in the opening round. But O'Sullivan failed to make it further as he lost to veteran John Higgins 6-3 on Friday.
Higgins will meet David Gilbert in the other semifinal.
Source: Xinhua
