Judd Trump extended his run at the Shanghai Masters to the semi-finals stage with a resounded 6-0 victory over John Higgins on Thursday.
The world number one looked in fine fettle as he dismantled the challenge of the four-time world champion in the quarter-finals.
Trump set up a last-four showdown with world champion Wu Yize after producing a devastating display of power scoring against old rival Higgins.
The Englishman compiled breaks of 97, 60, and 53 to take command of the contest early on before adding a hat-trick of century break contributions in the second half of the tie to complete the rout.
“I started off good,” Trump told the World Snooker Tour. “It was a big second frame. John was clearing up and missed the last black going up for the yellow.”
“That’s just the kind of shot that can turn the game at this level. Other than that, he didn’t really do a lot wrong.
“I just had to play my best, I don’t know if I have ever beaten him 6-0 or 5-0 before. It’s an incredible performance by me to do that.
“He’s such a consistent player. Any time I’ve been in front in the past, he has always managed to get back into it.
“It was nice to get it over and done with quickly.”
Trump, who previously enjoyed a dominant period in their head-to-head for several years, had lost his two most recent clashes with Higgins this year in deciding frames.
There was never any chance of this one going close, though, with the veteran Scot limited to just 37 points scored in the second frame.
“I had a good run against him for maybe five or six years where he didn’t manage to beat me,” Trump continued.
“Obviously when you win once, you get a bit of confidence.”
“I had chances both times in deciders, and you don’t want to be losing more than two times in a row against a certain player.
“It starts to get in your head a little bit, so it was nice to kind of shut that down early by putting in that kind of performance.
“No matter what happens going forward in this tournament, at least I’ve started [my season] good. I know my form is there.
“It’s nice that I know that I can play like that. Whoever I play next is another incredibly tough game, and it’s completely different on the day.
“So you don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’s nice to know that the form is in there.”
Next up for the 2024 Shanghai Masters champion will be Wu, who had a completely different last-eight outing at the Luwan Gymnasium.
In a repeat of their epic World Snooker Championship final from May, Wu once again denied Shaun Murphy in a deciding-frame thriller.
Trump and Wu have faced off against one another on five occasions, with Trump winning the first three games and Wu taking victory in the last two.
That semi-final showdown will take place over 19 frames on Friday, with the second last-four battle between Zhao Xintong and Kyren Wilson then scheduled for Saturday.
There was a similar pattern again for those players in their quarter-final victories, albeit this time it was the Chinese competitor who recorded a bagel scoreline and the Englishman who needed all 11 frames.
Wilson edged Mark Williams by taking the last three frames against the Welshman, while Zhao thrashed Neil Robertson with the aid of a brace of tons.
Wilson leads the head-to-head with Zhao 4-3, with one of those triumphs coming at the same stage in Shanghai last year en route to taking the prestigious invitational crown.
Featured photo credit: WST
