Stephen Maguire secured his spot in the snooker top 16 of the world, and therefore has a automatic place in the world championships at the end of the month.

Maguire beat Alfie Burden by 5-1 today in the china open in Beijing. With decent scoring today, Maguire closed out Burden early on and secured the semi final spot quick.

Maguire maging it into the snooker top 16 means Ding Junhiu is now out of the 16 and will have to qualify for the world championships by going through 3 grueling qualification matches just to get to the crucible theater in Sheffield.

This is a great milestone for Maguire, who has been struggling with performances lately. He will be hoping to go even further than the semi finals tomorrow and perhaps even be a contender for the world championships next month.

The places in or around the 16 spots of the snooker top 16 are extremely competitive and only one good run and a tournament can change the entire shape of it.

Judd Trump was in action today also, playing fellow Englishman, Mark King. Trump in good form lately, has shown no signs of letting up. Consistant match play and good break building today, Trump secured his spot in the final for by winning 5-3. Stephen Maguire and Judd Trump will now play in the semi final of the china open tomorrow.

Elsewhere, Ricky Walden beat world champion, Stuart Bingham 5-1, continuing on with his recent good form. Walden who got to the final of the players championship and now in the semi final of this tournament is delighted with the turnaround in performances as of late, just in time for the world championships.

John Higgins beat Nappon Saengkham 5-3 earlier today to book his spot in the semi finals of the china open. Higgins will now play Ricky Walden in the semi finals tomorrow in what promises to be a great match.