Judd Trump (Photo by Martin Rulsch)
World number one Judd Trump overcame World Champion Wu Yize 10-6 to reach the final of the Shanghai Masters, where he will face either Kyren Wilson or Zhao Xintong.
2019 World Champion Trump is aiming to lift one of snooker’s most prestigious invitational prizes for a second time here in Shanghai. He defeated Shaun Murphy in the 2024 title match and was runner-up to John Higgins in 2012, Kyren Wilson in 2015 and Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2017.
The Ace in the Pack added the 2026 German Masters to his trophy cabinet last season, but victory here would stand Trump in good stead for a big haul in this campaign. He went on to win the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and the UK Championship following his win here in 2024.
Awaiting in the final is either 2024 World Champion Kyren Wilson or 2025 Crucible king Zhao Xintong, who contest tomorrow’s second semi-final. Sunday’s best-of-21 final carries a top prize of £210,000Sunday’s best-of-21 final carries a top prize of £210,000.
Yize’s first appearance since winning the World Championship back in May ends in defeat. He defeated Murphy 18-17 to pick up snooker’s ultimate prize at the Crucible and he backed that up here with a 6-5 win over the Magician in the quarters.
Trump earned his place in the semis with an incredible 6-0 whitewash of Higgins in the last eight. He restricted the Scot to just 37 points in the entire match, all accrued in the second frame. He carried that form into this afternoon and ended 5-4 ahead.
When play resumed this evening, Trump extended his advantage with a run of 91 to make it 6-4. Yize hit back and made 112 in the next, before a 112 of his own from Trump made it 7-5. He made it back-to-back centuries in the 13th, making 113 to go into the interval 8-5 ahead.
A break of 110 from Yize upon the resumption continued the scintillating standard, but it was in vain as Trump claimed two on the bounce to run out a 10-6 victor.
Trump said: “It was tricky this afternoon. I managed to get out with a lead. It probably should have been 6-3, but I wasn’t too disheartened. I knew my game was there and that I would get the chances. It was just about taking them. Luckily for me he made a few more mistakes than he did this afternoon.
“It is always good to start quickly in Shanghai. Even though this isn’t a ranking event, it fills you with confidence as you are against the best in the world. I think if you lose early on in this event it can make you second guess yourself.
“I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow. Maybe some golf, but I haven’t thought too far ahead. Maybe a bit of practising, maybe a bit of golf or just get out and see some of the sights of Shanghai.
“It will be a great game between Kyren and Xintong. It should be an exciting final whoever I face. It has been a good tournament so far, but you need to get over that line.”
Yize said: “I’ll continue to look at the areas where I need to improve and put more work into my practice. I believe I can handle the tournaments coming up. This event has been a good start to the season and a valuable opportunity for me to get some practice. I hope Zhao Xintong can play well tomorrow and keep the title in China. If I couldn’t do it myself, I’ll leave it to him.
