Moody lets control slip as Wilson rallies
For long periods, Moody had looked the more assured player. The 19-year-old carried a 6-3 lead into the evening and might have extended it further, only for a series of missed opportunities to shift the momentum.
Even early in the session, the signs were subtle rather than obvious. Wilson was creating chances but failing to take them cleanly, while Moody capitalised efficiently to move further ahead. Yet the crucial moment came in a frame that should have put him firmly in command.
Leading comfortably, Moody faltered on the final red, allowing Wilson to force a respotted black with a nerveless clearance. He duly took it, turning what could have been 8-3 into 7-4 -- a swing that altered the tone of the match.
Wilson pressed on, adding a 63 to close the gap, and after the interval delivered the decisive blow. Moody briefly steadied with a break of 68, only for Wilson, requiring three snookers, to produce a remarkable counter-attack. After several attempts, he forced the necessary fouls and completed a clearance to level at 7-7.
From there, the balance shifted irreversibly. Moody, so fluent earlier, began to tighten. Simple positional shots drifted awry, long pots lost their conviction, and chances went begging. Wilson, far from flawless himself, needed only to remain composed, edging ahead with a break of 46 before capitalising on further errors.
The closing frame encapsulated the drama. Moody, still fighting, fashioned a chance but missed a difficult black after a series of bold pots, leaving Wilson a straightforward finish on the final black to seal victory.
The release was immediate. Wilson punched the air towards his corner, the tension evident after a testing performance. “I had problems the whole time,” he said afterwards. “I hated my cue -- I even changed my tip for the evening session. I spent another hour working on it before the match. I just had to change something.”
Moody, meanwhile, cut a dejected figure. “I felt like I was the better player today,” he admitted. “But the lack of experience and those bitterly lost frames really hurt my game.”
Wilson now advances to face Mark Allen.
Murphy finds late spark to edge ahead
If Wilson’s match was defined by momentum swings, Murphy’s evening was marked by inconsistency.
He began brightly, compiling a 78 to establish an early lead, but failed to build on it, missing a routine pink that allowed Fan back into the contest. The pattern persisted: Murphy’s scoring came in flashes, but errors repeatedly handed initiative to his opponent.
Fan might have drawn level before the interval but missed in the colours, leaving Murphy 3-1 ahead. After the restart, the Chinese player responded well, taking control of the tactical exchanges and levelling at 3-3 before trading frames to keep the match finely balanced.
For much of the session, Murphy struggled to string together meaningful contributions, failing to pass 30 in several frames. Yet just as the contest threatened to slip from his grasp, he produced a moment of clarity.
In the final frame, Murphy compiled a superb total clearance of 140, the standout contribution of the night, to edge into a 5-4 lead and seize the initiative heading into the concluding session.