It was semi-finals day in Ally Pally yesterday. All the polls, all the pundits and commentators were giving Judd Trump as a massive favourite for the title. Kyren Wilson had other ideas … he’s the reigning World Champion after all and he’s wearing his crown with pride. Kyren will face Shaun Murphy. The Magician had brought his magic wand to the arena and conjured a 147 to the delight of the fans. Both men were awesome, albeit in different ways. We should have a fantastic final!

Here are the reports shared by WST:

MURPHY MAKES 147 AND REACHES FINAL

Shaun Murphy raised the roof at Alexandra Palace with a 6-3 victory over Mark Allen, making a 147 on his way to the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters.

Murphy is into the final in London for the third time, having lost to Neil Robertson in 2012 and won his sole Masters title in 2015. The 42-year-old will meet Judd Trump or Kyren Wilson over 19 frames on Sunday, with the Paul Hunter Trophy and £350,000 top prize at stake. World number seven Murphy will be aiming for his fourth Triple Crown success, having landed the World Championship in 2005 and the UK Championship in 2008.

After a slow start against Allen, losing the first two frames, he played fantastic snooker to win six of the next seven, undoubtedly highlighted by his historic 147 in frame six as he became only the fifth player in the 50-year history of the Masters to make a maximum.  

Murphy has come close to silverware already this season, notably losing to Trump in both the final of the Shanghai Masters and the semi-finals of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. He will be fiercely determined to go all the way tomorrow and become the 12th player to win the Masters on multiple occasions.

Allen dominated the first two frames then Murphy took the third – without either player making a break over 50. Early in frame four, Murphy crunched in a long red to set up a break of 83 for 2-2. After the interval, Murphy made a 54 in taking frame five to go ahead, before lighting up the arena with his marvellous 147.

Having lost four frames in a row, Allen needed a foothold, and he got it in the seventh, coming from 30-0 down to make a 54 clearance, though his heart skipped a beat when he rolled the final brown along a baulk cushion and it stopped in the jaws of the pocket before toppling in. But Murphy quickly regained the initiative as a run of 72 made it 5-3.

Frame nine lasted 33 minutes as Allen missed chances to close the gap, and the Northern Irishman eventually made a safety error on the final green which let Murphy in to clear the table and reach his tenth Triple Crown final.

“The 147 was an incredible moment, one of the highlights of my snooker life since I was eight years old,” said Murphy. “I had always wanted to make a maximum in a Triple Crown event and had never really come close until the other day. This time I was thinking ‘don’t mess it up again!’ The roar when the last black went in was the loudest I have ever heard in a snooker arena. The crowds this week have been unbelievable. 

“It was a great match played in a great spirit and I’m thrilled to be in the final. Mark is such a tough player to beat, he’s by far a stronger tactical player than me so I knew I had to shake it up a bit and go for my shots. I had a bit of luck at the right time especially in the last frame.

“To face either the World Champion or world number one in the final – that’s how it should be at the Masters. To win the trophy again would be a dream because the last ten years for me has been a barren spell in terms of Triple Crowns. Certain other players are in these finals all the time, for me it’s more of an occasion. There’s no point coming this far without winning.”

Allen, who won this event in 2018, said: “Once Shaun got to 73 on the 147 I was cheering him on because it’s a very special thing to do, in front of this crowd. He held himself together really well. I was disappointed not to play my best, especially not to make it 5-4 because that would have been ‘game on’. There were just too many loose shots.” 

WILSON REACHES FINAL AND ENDS TRUMP’S SLAM DREAM

Kyren Wilson scored a superb 6-3 victory over Judd Trump in the semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters, ending Trump’s hopes of winning all four major titles in a single season.

Wilson stormed back from 3-2 down to take the last four frames, making a break over 70 in each of those, to set up a final with Shaun Murphy on Sunday at Alexandra Palace with the Paul Hunter Trophy and £350,000 top prize at stake. Having lost his only previous final against Mark Allen in 2018, this is Wilson’s chance to win his first Masters title and add that honour to his World Champion status. 

Trump, having won the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship, was on a mission to become the first player to capture all four majors in a single campaign, but made uncharacteristic errors tonight. The world number one misses out on a third Masters final having won the title in 2019 and 2023.

The Bristolian has now lost three of four huge clashes with Wilson this season, having finished runner-up in the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, though Trump did get the better of their UK semi-final meeting in York.

Wilson took the opening frame with a break of 61, then recovered a 37-0 deficit to snatch the second with an 89 clearance. The Kettering cueman had a golden chance for 3-0 but lost position from black to red on 44, then had to watch as Trump made 85 for 2-1. In the fourth, Wilson trailed 52-27 when he missed a tricky pot on the third last red, and Trump capitalised again to square the tie.

Wilson was just two pots from taking frame five when he missed the yellow with the long rest, leading by 23 points. Trump laid a series of snookers and gained 43 penalty points, before sealing the frame with a superb long pot on the blue. Back came Wilson with a run of 76 for 3-3, then he took advantage of Trump’s miss on a risky thin-cut black in the seventh to make 88 and edge ahead.

World number two Wilson kept his momentum going with a run of 85 for 5-3. And when Trump missed the pink to corner on 14 in frame nine, Wilson wrapped it up in style with a 106.

“From 3-3 it seemed to go into the blink of an eye to 6-3,” said 33-year-old Wilson. “I got into a rhythm and decided to be as positive as possible because you have to take your chances against Judd. I’m really pleased with the way I finished the match off. I’m looking forward to the challenge of the final.

“I want this title on my CV. I am a very different person and player compared to how I was in my first final here in 2018. I’ve got a lot of confidence going into this one. I have had a fantastic season already and I’m proud of the way I have managed to handle myself as World Champion.“

“Every match here could be a final so I go into every game with that kind of mindset and I feel I have already won three finals. Before the break-off tonight, Judd and I said to each other how great the atmosphere was. That was incredible tonight. I wish there were more tournaments like this because it’s so inspiring, it’s a privilege to play here.“

Trump said: “From 3-2 I didn’t play well. I played some loose safeties. Then at 3-3 I took on a risky black, if that had gone in it was 4-3 to me. I missed some easy balls which I didn’t miss in my first two matches. That threw me a bit and I didn’t get much fluency. Kyren played ok, I gave it to him a little bit. He scored more heavily than me and that was the main difference. I’ll dust myself off and try to win the next tournament.“

This is the last frame of the Kyren v Judd match, shared by ES on YouTube

Here is Shaun’s impeccable 147, shared by WST

Meanwhile in Morocco, the WSF championships, juniors and women, are under way. There is also a Q-Tour event played in the Middle-East. You can follow them here.