Boiko Moves To The Brink Of China Open Qualification

Snooker

15 June 2026

Boiko Moves To The Brink Of China Open Qualification

The penultimate day of qualifying for the China Open delivered more drama, heavy scoring and several standout performances as players edged closer to securing their place in Taiyuan.

Leading the headlines was Ukraine’s Iulian Boiko, who continued his impressive rise with another assured victory to move within one win of reaching the televised stages.

Boiko One Win Away

Iulian Boiko continued the momentum from the best season of his career with a convincing 6-2 victory over China’s Lei Peifan.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough 2025/26 campaign, reaching his first ranking semi final at the Shoot Out and progressing to the last 32 of both the British Open and Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. Now ranked 87th in the world, Boiko is showing every sign that his upward trajectory is set to continue.

The Ukrainian raced into a commanding 5-0 lead thanks in part to breaks of 82 and 84. Lei, the former Scottish Open champion, mounted a brief fightback by taking the next two frames, but Boiko held his nerve and sealed victory on the black in frame eight.

He will now face China’s Liu Hongyu on Sunday, with a place at the televised stages in Taiyuan at stake.

Yuan Prevails In A Thriller

China’s Yuan Sijun produced one of the comebacks of the day to defeat Louis Heathcote 6-5.

Yuan found himself trailing 4-2 and later 5-4, but showed tremendous resilience to force a deciding frame before compiling a superb break of 70 to complete the turnaround and keep his qualification hopes alive.

Chen’s Dream Run Continues

Amateur wild card Chen Ruifu continued to surprise the field as he powered to a 6-1 victory over Zak Surety.

Chen, who had already come through a deciding frame battle against Scott Donaldson earlier in qualifying, looked full of confidence as he compiled a top break of 93 to move within touching distance of a place in Taiyuan.

Carter Finds Top Form

Ali Carter produced a high quality display to defeat Gao Yang 6-4.

The former World Championship finalist compiled breaks of 134 and 96 to maintain control throughout the contest and book his place in the final qualifying round.

Jackson Page also impressed, compiling a century break of 100 as he defeated Belgium’s Ben Mertens 6-4.

Thepchaiya Misses Out

World Open champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh will not be appearing in Taiyuan after suffering a 6-3 defeat to China’s Yao Pengcheng.

Elsewhere, David Gilbert finished strongly with a break of 117 in his 6-4 victory over Liam Pullen, while Jack Lisowski demonstrated his fighting qualities by recovering from 4-3 down to defeat Xu Yichen 6-4.

With one day of qualifying remaining, the battle for places at the China Open is finely poised, setting up an exciting conclusion as players chase their place in Taiyuan.

Day 4 Results

Fan Zhengyi 6-3 Stan Moody

Gary Wilson 6-2 Steven Hallworth

Jack Lisowski 6-4 Xu Yichen

Pang Junxu 6-0 Dylan Emery

Aaron Hill 6-1 Hammad Miah

Zhou Yuelong 6-3 Mitchell Mann

David Gilbert 6-4 Liam Pullen

Iulian Boiko 6-2 Lei Peifan

Chen Ruifu 6-1 Zak Surety

Liu Hongyu 6-2 Ben Woollaston

Yao Pengcheng 6-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh