Image source, PA Media
Image caption, Judd Trump won the first Triple Crown event of the season, the UK Championship, in December
Phil Cartwright
BBC Sport journalist
World number one Judd Trump will play world champion Kyren Wilson in the semi-finals of the Masters after both players won their respective quarter-final matches on Friday.
Trump, 35, won five successive frames after the interval to beat China’s Ding Junhui 6-3.
By reaching the last four at Alexandra Palace, Trump surpassed Ronnie O’Sullivan’s record for the most prize money earned in a season, with his earnings for 2024-25 approaching £1.3m.
The key moment of his quarter-final victory came in the sixth frame when Ding, leading 3-2, did all of the hard work to create another frame-winning opportunity but missed an easy red, with the rest, to the corner pocket.
Trump dominated from that moment and will next face fellow Englishman Wilson, who defeated 2023 world champion Luca Brecel 6-4 in Friday’s evening session – despite his preparation being hampered by a bizarre ankle injury sustained while asleep in bed.
England’s Shaun Murphy will play Mark Allen of Northern Ireland in the other semi-final (Saturday, 13: 15 GMT).
‘I’m somewhere near my peak’
Trump and Ding produced a match of high quality in terms of scoring, with seven of their nine frames containing a break of 70 or above.
Ding, the 2011 Masters champion, began in style with well-made contributions of 70 and 74 to take a 2-0 lead.
Trump
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