The Shenzhen Open continues to provide shock results as Kyren Wilson and Neil Robertson were both upset in the last 16 on Thursday.
In a pretty substantial surprise, Wilson was downed 5-2 by Michael Holt, who is into his first ranking quarter-final in almost two years.
The Hitman had a brilliant day on Wednesday as he whitewashed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-0 and followed it up with a superb performance against the 2024 world champion.
Breaks of 126, 54, 84 and 84 helped him on his way to victory and handed out a consequential defeat for Wilson.
The Warrior won this event in its previous guise – the Xi’an Grand Prix – two years ago, so a relatively early exit will see his world ranking take a hit as the points from 2024 tumble off.
Holt will be upwardly mobile in the rankings thanks to this run as the world number 46 secures a quarter-final meeting with either Yuan Sijun or Zak Surety.
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Robertson was the other former world champion to lose in the Thursday afternoon session in Shenzhen, downed 5-2 by Chris Wakelin.
With Wakelin ranked 12 in the world, it is not the level of upset that Holt produced, but it still represents a huge win for the Englishman who has been in fine form this week.
The Monster knocked in three centuries on the bounce in his opening win over Liam Davies and then hammered Stuart Bingham 5-0 in the last 32.
Wakelin will now be favourite in his quarter-final against Jimmy Robertson, who beat Scott Donaldson 5-0 on Thursday in the last 16.
The unusual quarter-final line-up has come together after a number of early shocks which saw Zhao Xintong, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams all beaten on the opening day in Shenzhen.
Fellow top 16 players John Higgins, Ding Junhui and Xiao Guodong all followed them out of the competition on Tuesday.
There are a number of big-hitters still swinging in Shenzhen, though, with the bottom half of the draw still boasting the likes of Mark Selby, Judd Trump, Shaun Murphy and world champion Wu Yize.
The winner of Sunday’s final will claim the £177,000 top prize, so it is a career-changing opportunity for some of the underdogs still scrapping in Shenzhen.
This season has already produced some long-shot winners, notably Jak Jones winning the first two ranking titles of his career at the Championship League and British Open.
Ali Carter has also got his hands on a trophy, and despite being an established winner on tour, few expected the Captain to win last month’s English Open at 47 years old, him included.