John Higgins storms into Welsh Open semis with dominant display

Four World Championship winners John Higgins remains firmly on course for a sixth Welsh Open crown after a commanding 5-0 victory over Zhou Yuelong in the quarter-finals at Llandudno.

The experienced Scot edged three scrappy opening frames before finding his rhythm with polished breaks of 75 and 67 to complete a clinical whitewash.

Higgins will now face Jack Lisowski in the semi-finals after the Englishman produced an impressive display to beat 2017 champion Stuart Bingham 5-2.

Lisowski raced into a 4-0 lead, compiling fluent breaks of 70 and 118 to take control of the contest. Although Bingham responded by claiming two frames to threaten a comeback, Lisowski maintained his composure to secure his place in the last four.

The 32-year-old continues to build on the confidence gained from claiming his maiden ranking title at the Northern Ireland Open in October.

Elsewhere, Barry Hawkins reached his first semi-final of the season after overcoming a former world champion for the second successive day.

Having defeated Mark Williams on Thursday, Hawkins followed up with a hard-fought 5-3 victory against Neil Robertson. 

Despite registering just one break over 40, Hawkins proved resolute in a series of tight, tactical frames.

Hawkins will meet either Wu Yize, who edged past fellow Chinese player Jiang Jun in a deciding frame. The semi-finals, played over the best of 11 frames, are scheduled for Saturday as the battle for the title intensifies.