Jordan Brown stuns former world champion to set up NI Open last-eight clash with close friend Mark Allen

The Antrim man survived a late comeback from Murphy to prevail 4-2 and reach his first Quarter-Final since the 2023 International Open where he will meet fellow Antrim man Allen, who eased past Cork’s Aaron Hill in his own fourth round tie.

The pair will meet on Friday in the last-eight, meaning Northern Irish interest from a player’s perspective is guaranteed to continue into the Semi-Finals at least, Allen aiming for his third win at this event while Brown is looking for his maiden professional title in Belfast.

Brown’s win over Murphy continues a stunning tournament for the 38-year-old, who knocked out reigning world champion Zhao Xintong in round two and now has the scalp of another Crucible champion to add to his sensational record.

He had to dig deep to defeat Murphy, too, the local hero racing into a 3-0 lead thanks to breaks of 70 and 61 in the first two frames, followed by a back-and-forth battle in the third frame to move one from victory.

However, the quality of Murphy came to the fore in the next two legs as the Englishman smashed in a 135 break to get on the board in the fourth frame and then made it a real contest when he outlasted Brown in the fifth frame thanks to a break of 55.

Mark Allen progressed past Aaron Hill at the Northern Ireland Open

But the Antrim Ferrari would not be denied and he took full advantage of Murphy being unable to clear the colours after missing the green, Brown emptying the table to a roar from the home crowd as he emerged victorious and continues an unlikely bid for a win on home soil.

Meanwhile, Allen a had to brave two last-frame deciders in his first and second round meetings with Robert Milkins and Ben Woollaston respectively, but there was to be no worries this time around as he eased past Hill 4-1 to reach Friday’s last-eight.

Hill had put together an excellent run in this tournament, knocking out Yang Gao and Lei Peifan before his most eye-catching result against Barry Hawkins in the previous round, but he was largely powerless to stop his northern counterpart.

Despite that, Allen was full of praise for his young opponent and admitted that on another day the result could have been very different.

“I think he can go to the very top,” praised Allen.

“I think he’s got a great head on young shoulders, he works very hard and the biggest compliment I could pay Aaron is he’ll go away from that match fuming that he didn’t beat me. He would fully expect to go out there and beat me even though I’m one of the top players in the world.

“He’s so confident in his own ability, he backs himself all the time, he plays the big shots. I think he’s going to go right to the top.”

Allen flexed his muscles early with a 137 break in the opening frame, his 680th career century break, and, although Hill responded in the second frame with a 65 break to level the match, the 23-year-old would barely have a look-in after that.

Instead, Allen impressed, coming from behind to edge a narrow third frame to reclaim the lead after forcing Hill into two fouls that proved crucial, before rattling in a 53 break to claim the fourth and move one away from victory, which he would seal in frame five with another break of 69.

It means the 39-year-old world number eight has maintained his perfect record of nine wins from nine in the Home Nations Series as the English Open champion pursues the £150,000 jackpot for the best performer across the four events.

It was a good afternoon session for all the higher ranked players as Judd Trump, John Higgins and Tom Ford all secured their places in the last-eight with wins at the Waterfront Hall, while Zhou Yuelong also progressed without striking a ball after his opponent, Ali Carter, withdrew.

World number one Trump continued his strong form with a 4-1 win over Gary Wilson to set up a blockbuster meeting on Friday with Higgins, who defeated Si Jiahui by the same scoreline, while Ford prevailed 4-2 over Yuan Sijun and will face Yuelong in the Quarter-Finals after Carter’s withdrawal for “personal reasons”.

Elsewhere in the evening session, world number two Kyren Wilson was good value for his 4-2 win over He Guoqiang that sets up a last-eight meeting with either Thepchaiya Un-Nooh or Jack Lisowski.