Pang Junxu fired a century in the deciding frame as he ended Neil Robertson’s bid to become the first player to win all four Home Nations titles with a 5-4 success in the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.

World number 27 Pang, one of seven Chinese players inside the world’s top 32, is into the semi-finals of a ranking event for the third time in his career. His best run came at the 2023 WST Classic when he reached the final before losing to Mark Selby, and the 24-year-old hopes to go one further this time in Belfast. He will face Kyren Wilson on Saturday afternoon.

Robertson had hoped to complete the set of Home Nations trophies, having previously worn the English, Scottish and Welsh crowns, but he’ll have to wait for another year. His lead at the top of the BetVictor Series rankings, with a £150,000 bonus up for grabs at the end of the series, is also now sure to be slashed.

Pang got the better of a fragmented opening frame, then Robertson, playing his 82nd ranking quarter-final, levelled with a break of 105. In the third, Pang looked set to clear from 46-0 down until he missed a routine pot on the final green on 52, allowing his opponent to go ahead. Pang squared the tie with a run of 87 then Robertson’s 85 made it 3-2.

An over-cut red to a centre pocket on 19 cost Robertson in frame six as Pang responded with 51 to draw level again. Pang had a clear scoring chance in the seventh but made just 16 before running out of position and missing a difficult red to a baulk corner, and Robertson’s 52 was enough for 4-3.

Australia’s Robertson had his match-winning chance in the eighth but was unlucky to lose position on 40 when he went into the pack. Pang took it with an 85 then finished in style with a 129 total clearance.

“I’m very happy to have won,” said Pang, who was named Rookie of the Year after his debut season in 2021. “Being able to seize the opportunity and clear the table in the deciding frame feels really great. I tried not to overthink and just focused on playing, capitalising on Neil’s mistakes. I generally don’t get influenced by the crowd – once I’m immersed in the game, there’s no pressure, and I feel quite comfortable with that. I believe I have a good chance to progress to the next round, and reducing my errors would be ideal. If I can minimize mistakes, I should be able to go even further.

“The mistakes mainly come from positional play and potting. When I don’t position the ball well, it increases the difficulty of my next shot, which leads to more errors. Neil also made quite a few mistakes today, and I managed to take advantage.”

World Champion Wilson extended his winning run over Mark Williams after an impressive 5-1 defeat of the three-time Crucible king.

The Warrior’s incredible head-to-head record against Williams now stands at 7-0 in his favour after today’s victory. Tomorrow sees Wilson bidding for a maiden Northern Ireland Open final appearance. He made the semis in the inaugural year back in 2016, but hasn’t been beyond the last 16 in Belfast since.

Wilson was in clinical form this afternoon and crafted breaks of 72, 135 and 67 on his way to victory.

“It’s a game that I enjoy playing. He is in the Class of 92 and an all-time great. You know you have to always play well. Anything below par and he is going to walk all over you. It makes my job quite simple. Maybe the way Mark plays is so relaxed that it makes me relaxed. I just go out there and try to enjoy it,” said seven-time ranking event winner Wilson.

“When I look back on my career and these legends have gone and retired, they will be the landmark. You will look at how you got on against them. To have a record like that against them is very flattering.

“Pang is a really solid player. He had a good win over Neil Robertson. I know him from Ding Junhui’s Snooker Academy in Sheffield and he is a very heavy practiser. He puts many hours in and is very solid. I will have to play as well as I have done today to beat him.”