Tomorrow’s final in Yushan will be contested by Judd Trump and Ding Junjui. Here are WST reports on what happened today in the semi-finals.

Afternoon session: TRUMP ON TRACK FOR FIFTH TITLE

Judd Trump ended the run of Jackson Page with a 6-2 victory at the semi-final stage of the Huading Nylon World Open in China, moving within one win of a fifth ranking title this season.

World number two Trump will face Neil Robertson or Ding Junhui in the final in Yushan on Sunday, with first to ten frames taking the £170,000 top prize.

If Bristol’s Trump comes out on top, it will be the third time within five years that he has won five (or more) ranking titles in a single campaign, having landed a record six in 2019/20 and five the following season.

The only other players to achieve that feat are Stephen Hendry (five in 1990/91), Ding Junhui (five in 2013/14), Mark Selby (five in 2016/17) and Ronnie O’Sullivan (five in 2017/18).

Trump, who won this event the last time it was staged in 2019, will be playing in the 44th ranking event final of his career and seventh of the season. Victory would give the 34-year-old a 28th career ranking title, moving him level with Steve Davis on the all-time list, behind only O’Sullivan, Hendry and John Higgins.

Welshman Page, who knocked out the likes of John Higgins and Mark Selby, enjoyed the best week of his career so far having never previously been beyond the last 16 of a ranking event. But the 22-year-old was no match for Trump in the second half of today’s encounter. His hopes of qualifying for next month’s Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship are also over, though Page banks a career-high pay day of £32,500.

Trump opened with a break of 122, his sixth century of the week. The next two frames were shared, then Page made a 72 to level at 2-2. After the interval, Page had chances in every frame, but was not able to capitalise, and Trump took four in a row with a top run of 67. 

“It was a scrappy game, neither of us played well, we both missed a lot of balls,” admitted Trump. “It was Jackson’s first semi-final and he didn’t really settle, my experience probably made the difference. I haven’t played that well this week, I have scraped my way through with sheer determination. But that has been the case at other tournaments I have won this season. Hopefully things click in the final. It has been an incredible season.

“This has been a fantastic tournament, it’s nice to be back here after five years. Coming to Yushan has brought back good memories for me and it’s great to have the chance to win it again.”  

Page’s chances were hampered before the match even started as he cut his finger while taking his cue out of its case. “The buckle of the case ripped the skin on my finger,” he said. “I was praying for it not to bleed, but then it started bleeding. I tried putting a plaster on, but then I couldn’t feel the cue so I had to take it off. It’s not an ideal start in your first semi-final.” 

Not much to add here. It wasn’t a great match and probably the worse Jackson has played all week. It was clear for all to see that the finger injury bothered him at the start of the match and he never really settled.

Evening session: DING’S EPIC WIN SENDS ROBERTSON OUT OF TOP 16

Ding Junhui beat Neil Robertson 6-5 in an almighty battle in the semi-finals of the Huading Nylon World Open, a result which means that Robertson will not be among the top 16 seeds at the Crucible this year.

Australia’s Robertson, who lost form earlier this season but had looked back to his best this week, led 5-4 and had chances in each of the last two frames, but couldn’t take them and instead home favourite Ding goes though to Sunday’s final to face Judd Trump. Crucible king in 2010 and one of the best players of the last two decades, Robertson could have rescued his top 16 status by winning the title this week, but now he will have to go through the qualifying rounds of the Cazoo World Championship for the first time since 2006.

That will not concern Ding as he looks ahead to a huge occasion against Trump in Yushan, with first to ten frames to take the trophy and £170,000 top prize. The world number nine is seeking his first ranking title since the 2019 UK Championship.

Ding himself has had poor spells of form in recent years, but this season has shown a higher level of consistency, and notably reached the final of the MrQ UK Championship, beating Trump 6-4 in the semi-finals before losing to Ronnie O’Sullivan. Victory tomorrow would prove that the 36-year-old is once again a contender for the biggest titles. And he can take confidence from this season’s defeat of Trump in York, as well as the fact that he won their last final, at the 2014 German Masters. Ding will be playing in his 23rd ranking final and looking for his 15th title.

Robertson may reflect that he has looked much sharper this week, having previously failed to reach a ranking event semi-final since the 2022 English Open. He still has next weekend’s World Mixed Doubles to play in, before heading to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield, needing two wins to reach the Crucible. Today’s result also ends his hopes of playing in the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship – John Higgins hangs on to the 12th and last slot for that event in Manchester.

Breaks of 68 and 118 helped Robertson to an early 3-1 lead, before Ding fought back to lead 4-3 with top runs of 75 and 51. In frame eight, Robertson made a 55 clearance for 4-4, then he regained the lead with a 128, his eighth century of the tournament. 

In the ninth, he was among the balls on 36 when he missed an awkward red to a top corner, bridging over another ball, and Ding responded with 68 for 5-5. First chance in the decider came Robertson’s way, and he made 53 but was unlucky not to land on a red when nudging the cluster as he potted the pink. Ding clawed his way back to 56-44, and when his opponent made a safety error on the last red, he took the chance to clear before thumping the cushion with his fist in celebration. 

“I can’t feel my legs, there was so much pressure on me,” said Ding, who beat Kyren Wilson in the final of this event in 2017. “When I got the chance in the last frame, I thought I was going to win, but there was pressure on every shot. When I potted the pink I tried to enjoy the moment. 

“From the first match this week I have tried to stay calm and concentrate. I have played a few great matches, then today I didn’t play that well, but winning is always good. Judd is always consistent and he is confident of winning any tournament.“

Robertson wrote on X: “Tough one to take, especially battling on various fronts out there. Found the focus again at 3-4 down and played three brilliant frames but wasn’t meant to be, just a centimetre out here or there on match ball and couldn’t get through. Well done to Ding it was a great atmosphere. My game is in fantastic shape and I look forward to the rest of the season. Thanks everyone for all the support.”   

This was obviously a match where both players were under huge pressure, albeit for different reasons. Ding playing in China has always to cope with huge expectations. Neil Robertson was trying to avoid having to qualify for the Crucible. To make in even harder for both, the crowd was quite “lively”, noisy … phones were going off, cans of fizzy drinks were opened … all sorts. They were not hostile towards Neil though and applauded his good shots but it wasn’t ideal especially with what was at stakes. I have rarely seen Ding showing strong emotions after a win, but today he did… he punched the table with his fist really hard. It’s obvious that this victory meant a lot to him. I have no doubts that he will give it all, and more, tomorrow.

In other news… WST shared this lovely little video on social media… players, including Ronnie, visiting the World Billiards Museum