These are the reports by WST on the quarter-finals at the 2025 World Grand Prix in Hong Kong
Murphy And Robertson To Clash In Semis
Shaun Murphy ended John Higgins’ winning streak with a 5-3 victory in the last eight of the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong, setting up an epic semi-final with Neil Robertson who saw off Xiao Guodong by the same scoreline.
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Two former World Champions with 20 years experience of winning tournaments, Murphy and Robertson will go head to head on Saturday afternoon at the Kai Tak Arena. They are both chasing the £180,000 top prize, a record for this event.
Higgins’ confidence was sky-high after his landmark triumph at the Weide Cup World Open last week as well as his second round victory here over Kyren Wilson. But, playing a record 147th ranking event quarter-final, the Scot’s run was ended by Johnstone’s Paint Masters champion Murphy who goes into his 53rd ranking semi-final and remains on target for a 13th ranking title and first since the 2023 Championship League.
Both Murphy and Robertson came into this week in danger of missing out on a top 16 seeding for the Crucible next month. But in earning a guaranteed £35,000 they have strengthened their positions in that race, particularly as they are both on target to qualify for both the Sportsbet.io Players Championship and Sportsbet.io Tour Championship, which will bring a further total guarantee of £35,000.
Higgins took a 2-1 lead today, making breaks of 68 in the opening frame and 64 in third. World number 12 Murphy responded with a 143 total clearance, equalling Higgins’ target for the £10,000 high break prize. After the interval, Murphy got the better of two fragmented frames to lead 4-2, and although Higgins pulled one back with a run of 59, Murphy sealed the result in frame eight with a superb 112.
“It’s always tough against John, especially just after he has won a massive tournament and got that renewed sense of purpose,” said 42-year-old Murphy. “It was played in good spirits as it always is with John. It’s an honour to share the stage with him, I have always looked up to him and he has been teaching me since I was a teenager.“
Murphy beat Robertson on his way to Masters success in January, while the Australian came out on top en route to landing the BetVictor English Open title in September. England’s Murphy is looking forward to their third meeting of the season, adding: “Myself and Neil have been putting on good matches for most of our careers. It’s no surprise we’re at this stage of the event. It’s the best 32 players of the season here and it’s great to see the line up for the weekend.”
Robertson reached his first ranking semi-final since that English Open victory with an impressive fight back against China’s Xiao. Breaks of 54 and 99 gave Xiao the first two frames, then Robertson replied with a run of 92 but lost frame four on the colours.
World number 19 Robertson stormed back with 80, 65, 101 and 80 to take four frames in a row and reach his 52nd ranking semi-final. He has converted 24 of his previous 51 into ranking titles, a strike rate twice as good as tomorrow’s opponent.
“At 3-1 down I regrouped and came out strong,” said Robertson. “The only disappointing thing was missing the 147 chance (in frame five when he potted ten reds with blacks before missing a tough 11th red) because it would have been great to make one here. But I’m really pleased with the way I finished the match.
“Shaun and I are both having a good season. We’re seeing the in-form players doing well this week so hopefully it will be the semi-final line up that the crowds would have wanted to see.“
Four-Ton Juddernaut Crushes Vafaei
Judd Trump piled in four centuries as he demolished Hossein Vafaei 5-0 in just 64 minutes in the quarter-finals of the World Grand Prix, stepping up his bid to make 100 tons in a single season.
Vafaei is suffering from a spinal injury but even at full fitness there would surely have been little he could have done against an unstoppable Trump. The Iranian scored just 31 points as his opponent produced a break-building masterclass.
World number one Trump, resident in Hong Kong for much of the past year, lived up to his star billing and thrilled his fans as he set up a semi-final on Saturday night with Stuart Bingham, who came from 4-2 down to beat Mark Selby 5-4. Trump is chasing a fourth trophy of the season and 31st ranking title of his career.
With 84 centuries this season, 35-year-old Trump needs just 16 more to reach three figures for 2024/25. The first player to achieve that will earn a £100,000 bonus, and he is also chasing the all-time record of 103, set by Neil Robertson during the 2013/14 campaign.
He set the tone today with a 145 total clearance, then won a fragmented second frame. Vafaei had his only real scoring opportunity at the start of frame three but made just 24, and had to watch his opponent make 108 for 3-0. Trump followed up with 115 in the fourth, and saved his best until last with a fabulous 146 in the fifth, the new target for the £10,000 high break prize.
“I settled down straight away and played with confidence,” said Trump after reaching his 67th ranking semi-final. “Hossein missed one or two balls but I played solid and scored very well. It’s nice to have the crowd getting behind me and cheering for me. I’m proud to have been given the opportunity to represent them because I have always been an advocate for Hong Kong and I love it here. This event had a great field at the start of the week and the top players have been able to get through to the final weekend to showcase what they can do.“
Despite suffering from the ‘yips’, Bingham kept his best run of the season going with a tremendous win over four-time World Champion Selby. Prior to this week, Bingham hadn’t won a knock-out match in a ranking event since the BetVictor Scottish Open in December. He lost 5-1 to Chris Totten in the qualifying round of the Weide Cup World Open, 5-0 to Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the first round of the Machineseeker German Masters and 4-0 to Robbie Williams in the opening round of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
But the 2015 Crucible king’s game has clicked this week and he has enjoyed victories over Mark Williams, Wu Yize and Selby. The 48-year-old from Basildon is into his 24th ranking semi-final and is hoping to win a seventh title. If he beats Trump he will move into the top 16 of the Johnstone’s Paint One-Year Rankings and qualify for the Sportsbet.io Players Championship, at the expense of fellow Essex pro Ali Carter.
A break of 116 gave Bingham the opening frame before Selby levelled with a 75. World number 23 Bingham regained the lead and made 65 in the next only for Selby to clear with 71 for 2-2. That looked to have swung the tie in Selby’s favour as he added runs of 75 and 96 for 4-2. But the Leicester cueman barely had a chance in the last three frames as Bingham dominated the closing stages. A run of 47 left him in control of the decider and Selby’s attempts to gain snooker were in vain.
“I was fighting against myself, jabbing all over the place,” admitted Bingham. “That has crept into my game this season, I have no pause (on the backswing of the cue action). Luckily the balls still went in and it was a great win. I had the same a few years ago, then it disappeared, and it has come back this season. It’s hard to take anything from that game, though I should be elated to reach the semis.
“I’ll try to take the positives but it felt horrible. I have had matches where I am just not enjoying it. I have been working with a hypnotherapist called Chris O’Connor, who has also helped Kyren Wilson. We are working on trying to finish the backswing and then stop, but I’m still snatching at shots.“
All the detailed results are available on snooker.org
All four players remaining in the draw have been World Champions … just saying. We should have two enthralling high quality semi-finals and, given the quality of the four remaining players it’s hard to pick a definite favourite for the title. All four are prolific tournament winners. Judd Trump is the player of the season so far, and is probably the one most will expect to lift the trophy on Sunday but there is no guarantee. Based on what we have seen so far, I do expect Judd to beat Stuart Bingham tomorrow but, should he indeed reach the final, he will face either Shaun Murphy or Neil Robertson. Both are in great form and highly motivated.
Regarding today’s matches … I watched the Trump v Vafaei match and, to be honest, Hossein played better than I expected given his injury. That said he wasn’t at his best, far from it. Judd is full of confidence after the successes he has accumulated in recent months and, of course, he was aware of his opponent discomfort. He played with total freedom. That may not be the case tomorrow, or, should Judd beat Bingham, on Sunday.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 