Shaun Murphy suffered a painful flashback to last season’s Crucible final as he was beaten yet again by Wu Yize in a deciding frame, this time by a 5-4 scoreline as the World Champion progressed to the semi-finals of the Shenzhen Open in China.
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There must have been a sense of déjà vu for Murphy as – just as he did in Sheffield in May – he had an early chance in the last frame but couldn’t take it, and had to sit in his chair as talented 22-year-old Wu made a superb break. England’s Murphy also lost 6-5 against his new bogey player Wu in the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters in July.
This time, world number four Wu goes through to an intriguing clash with Judd Trump on Saturday, for a place in the final against either Yuan Sijun or Jimmy Robertson. It has been a quiet start to the season for Wu – this is his first run beyond the last 16 of a ranking event – but he is now into his ninth career ranking semi-final and can look forward to a potentially epic fixture with Trump.
Murphy led 3-2 with breaks of 104, 98 and 68, then Wu took the next two frames with 94 and 121 to edge 4-3 ahead. The Chinese ace had a clear chance for victory in the eighth but missed match-ball brown to a baulk corner and his opponent cleared for 4-4. Early in the decider, Murphy potted red and blue, but then overcut an awkward red to a top corner, bridging over other balls. Wu knocked in a mid-range red to set up a fabulous 117.
“I definitely feel huge pressure every time I play against him, I think we both put a lot of pressure on each other,” said Wu. “I felt that both of us really wanted to beat the other, which led to us making some mistakes. But I managed to hold my nerve at the crucial moment once again, so I’m really looking forward to the next match and facing Judd. The most important thing in the last frame is your mentality.
“It will be difficult against Trump, and that’s what makes it exciting. He’s obviously been one of the best players in the world over the years, without question. So I really enjoy playing against him. I’m always happy to play against and learn from any great player.“
Meanwhile, China’s Yuan reached the third ranking semi-final of his career with a 5-2 defeat of Michael Holt. He is now guaranteed a career high payday of £34,500, surpassing the £21,000 he earned from the 2025 German Masters semi-finals. Victory over Robertson would earn the 26-year-old a first ranking final.
World number 33 Yuan took the opening frame with a break of 69 then Holt levelled with a run of 89 before going 2-1 ahead. Yuan then dominated, reeling off the next four frames with top breaks of 116 and 139.
“I didn’t feel completely comfortable at the start, but I slowly adapted as the match went on,” said Yuan, who first turned pro in 2017 after winning the Asian Under-21 Championship. “Hopefully I can play my own game well in the semi-final against Jimmy Robertson. We’re quite close in the rankings, so it could be a good opportunity for me. I’ll try to put in an even better performance.
“Since coming to Shenzhen, I’ve been having great food every day, which definitely puts me in a better mood. I like claypot congee and seafood, and I tend to eat lighter food during the tournament. Once my matches are finished and I have some free time, I’ll go out and explore the city a bit.”
I have to say the Wu vs Murphy match was an absolute cracker and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Shaun and Wu, it was great entertainment, and wonderful skills on display. I’m pleased with the result as well as I really like to watch Wu Yize in full flow and he showed great character after squandering that big chance in frame 8. It wasn’t the hardest ball he missed there. He probably had a small lapse in concentration, precisely because it wasn’t that hard a ball. Likely, he relaxed too early.
The semi-finals day has two very different matches in store for us.
In the afternoon session (morning for us in Europe), Yuan Sijun, seeded 30th, faces Jimmy Robertson seeded 33d. In the evening session (afternoon in Europe), Judd Trump seeded 3rd will face Wu Yize seeded 2d as reigning World Champion.
Both Judd and Wu have won the World Championship, and Wu is the reigning World Champion, so this is really a “first class “clash.
The other two semi-finalists have more modest CVs. That said, Jimmy Robertson is a former ranking event winner: in October 2018, he won the 2018 European Masters, played in Lommel, Belgium. I was there during the whole tournament and Jimmy played awesome from start to finish. As for Yuan Sijun, he won the Dongjiu Cup 2023 CBSA Haining Snooker Open … beating no other than Wu Yize by 5-1 in the final to capture his second CBSA national title. WST report on that event can be found here.