Overview
- Littler averaged 107.09 with 71% on doubles and nine 180s in a 25-minute whitewash, the tournament’s second-highest match average so far.
- He said he felt unusually settled on stage and declared the display his best of the tournament, adding that he “can only get better.”
- Rob Cross beat Damon Heta to confirm a fourth-round meeting with Littler as the bracket continues to tighten at Alexandra Palace.
- Stephen Bunting, the No. 4 seed, was knocked out 4-3 by James Hurrell, continuing a run of upsets that has already claimed big names including Gerwyn Price.
- The expanded 128-player event carries a record £5m purse with £1m to the winner, with all seeds starting from round one this year.