 This guaranteed a first-time finalist from the bottom half of the draw.His opponent would be Dutchman Niels de Ruiter, who also needed a deciding set to beat number 6 seed Simon Whitlock.Phill Nixon, a first-time qualifier at the age of 50, followed up his victory over number 7 seed Darryl Fitton with a 4–1 win against number 10 seed Martin Atkins.