Semi-Finals Set in Sydney for Australian Open Snooker
Only four players remain from the initial entry of 111 as we head into the final day of the 2023 Bob Hawke AC Memorial Australian Open Snooker Championship – the second Q Tour Asia Pacific event of the season.
Reigning champion Steve Mifsud has been superb during his title defence so far, dropping just one frame in four match victories.
Mifsud – who is also the current record ten-time Australian national champion – defeated Connor Ye (4-0), Craig Turner (4-0), Jayden Dinga (4-1) and then Alex Ganji 4-0 in the quarter-finals where he made breaks 58, 83 and 81.
Shaun Dalitz (pictured above) will face Mifsud in the semi-finals on Sunday after he emerged from his quarter of the draw. The recently crowned Asia Pacific 6 Reds champion top scored with an 85 break as he saw off David Wright 4-0 in the last eight.
In the bottom half of the draw, Vinnie Calabrese will meet Paul Norris.
Former two-time Oceania Championship winner Calabrese (pictured below) started his campaign at the Mounties Club in style, rounding off a 4-0 win against Paul Rameka in the last 64 with an effort of 126 – the highest break of the tournament, so far.
A two-time runner-up in this event, Calabrese is on course to make it a trio of final appearances with subsequent successes against Michael Hough (4-0), Ben Judge (4-1) and James Mifsud (4-2). In his match with James Mifsud, Calabrese recovered from 2-0 down.
Norris – the only remaining cueist who had to play a preliminary round match – came from behind in both his last 16 and quarter-final challenges against Hassan Kerde (4-2) and Adrian Law (4-1), respectively.
The semi-finals (best of nine frames) and final (best of 11 frames) will both be played on Sunday.
