A quarter-final berth beckons for both David Bransdon and Brad Kennedy after the pair won their matches in the ISPS HANDA Matchplay Championship on the Japan Golf Tour on Wednesday.

With the after-effects of Typhoon Jebi still being felt at the Hatoyama Country Club in Saitama, Bransdon will on Thursday line up against Tatsunori Nukaga while Kennedy will meet world No.99 Yuta Ikeda after he defeated Tomoyo Ikemura 3&1 in the round of 32.

Qualifying for the final 16 wasn’t quite as straightforward for Bransdon who had to go to a 19th hole before getting the better of Yujiro Ohori 1 up.

Victorian Matthew Griffin wasn’t able to advance into the final 16, losing his match to Ryuji Masaoka 1 up.

Ranked as high as 33 in the world, the match between Ikeda and Kennedy shapes as the blockbuster clash of the round of 16, both coming off top-10 finishes at last week’s Fujisankei Classic, Kennedy a winner at the Sega Sammy Cup in July.

Although matchplay is not played regularly on the world’s professional tours, both Kennedy and Bransdon were given a taste of what it takes to win one hole at a time at the recent Sanctuary Cove Shootout where they survived until the 16th and 17th holes before bowing out.

Given they are on opposite sides of the draw, should Kennedy and Bransdon continue to rack up the wins they are not due to meet until the final on Sunday.

Kennedy’s match is scheduled to start at 10.40am AEST on Thursday with Bransdon to follow shortly thereafter at 11am.