Judd Trump turned on the style in a brilliant 6-3 win over Ding Junhui on Friday afternoon, booking his spot in the Masters semi-final.
The win confirms that Trump has already had the most lucrative season in snooker history, beating Ronnie O’Sullivan’s previous record of £1,265,500, with a string of big events still to come, climaxing at the World Championship.
The match actually started a little concerningly for the world number one as Ding went 2-0 and 3-1 ahead and looked very good in doing so.
The Chinese superstar made breaks of 70, 74 and 72 to have the lead at the interval and looked to be in control.
However, Trump was unruffled and returned from the break in play in sensational style, winning the next five frames.
He made breaks of 97, 53, 125, 62 and 75 as he blasted his opponent away. Ding did have a chance in the sixth but spurned it, then did not score a point in the final three frames.
‘It’s amazing to play like that in front of these fans,’ said Trump. ‘Coming out here is the best feeling in the world. I’m absolutely thrilled to play at that standard after the interval. It’s so inspiring to play in this venue.’
On the big money he has won this season, Trump added: ‘Don’t tell everyone here! Thanks everyone for the support. It’s amazing to come out here and play in front of everyone, I’m so privileged to be doing what I’m doing.’
Trump will take on Luca Brecel or Kyren Wilson in the semi-finals on Saturday, with Shaun Murphy and Mark Allen set to battle it out in the other clash in the last four.
It is the 35-year-old’s seventh appearance in a Masters semi-final as he bids for a third Alexandra Palace final.
The Ace feels he is as strong now as he has ever been, coming into the peak of his powers as a player.
‘I think probably now I’m somewhere near my peak,’ he said. ‘I’m a lot better player than I was five or 10 years ago.
‘I just think the consistency, I’m able to have that inner belief over and over again, even when I go 3-1 behind I still believe I can do what I did. Rattle off maybe five or 10 frames in a row without missing a single ball. I think that’s what you have to do at this level.
‘Everybody says every year that the standard gets harder, but unless your playing you don’t really believe it, but nobody ever misses anymore!’
Ding said of his afternoon: ‘Just a few mistakes. He played very well today. You can’t do that many mistakes against Judd Trump.
‘The crowd is good, they support both players. The arena is good, I’m a bit disappointed to be out, hopefully next time will be better.’
Summing up the match, Trump told Eurosport: ‘Everyone that watches snooker knows that I could’t play much better than that. I played brillianmt after the interval.
‘It’s just one of those games, I think Ding played great at the start, I played brilliant at the end. I think the whole tournament the standard has been absolutely brilliant so far.’
On the Wilson vs Brecel clash later on Friday, he said: ‘Should be a good game. I hope Luca turns up a bit. I think Kyren’s going to play his normal standard, it’s just how Luca plays. Could turn into a cracker.’
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