Judd Trump is one win away from a fifth ranking title of the season after beating Jackson Page in the semi-finals of the World Open.

Trump will face China’s Ding Junhui in the final in Yushan after beating an unfortunate Page 6-2, the Welshman cutting his finger while taking his cue out of its case before the match.

“The buckle of the case ripped the skin on my finger,” Page 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.”

Trump, who won this event the last time it was staged in 2019, opened with a break of 122 and won four frames in a row following the interval after Jackson’s break of 72 had made it 2-2.

“It was a scrappy game, neither of us played well, we both missed a lot of balls,” Trump said.

“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.”

Victory in the final would give world number two Trump a 28th career ranking title, moving him level with Steve Davis on the all-time list and behind only Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins.

The other semi-final proved a tense affair between Ding and Neil Robertson, which went to a deciding frame.

Breaks of 67 and 118 had seen Robertson open up an early 3-1 lead.

Ding, though, responded with two half-century runs of his own to edge back in front.

Robertson made 128 in the ninth frame despite becoming frustrated with the frequent interruptions from mobile phones in the noisy crowd, the Australian appearing to point out one serial offender to the referee.

However, Ding responded again as he took a tense 10th frame with a break of 68.

Then after Robertson had missed a chance to wrap up victory when looking set on a break of 53, the world number nine clinched a hard-earned place in the final with a run of 24 to win the deciding frame 70-56.

Mark Selby produced a vintage display to sweep past Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-0 and secure his place in the semi-finals of the Players Championship in Telford.

World number one O’Sullivan had looked pretty much untouchable this season, with four major ranking titles already.

However, it was Selby, himself a four-time world champion, who produced a high-quality display with half-century breaks or higher in five frames to end O’Sullivan’s 16-match unbeaten run.

There had been a controversial start to the match in the opening frame when referee Desislava Bozhilova failed to warn O’Sullivan after a second missed attempt when he could see one side of a red.

She swiftly realised her error, apologised to both players and promptly informed the world number one he would forfeit the frame if he did not hit a red with his next shot.

O’Sullivan’s response was to smash into the reds, opening up the table which allowed Selby to eventually clinch the frame with a break of 65.

Selby, who will play either China’s Zhang Anda or John Higgins in the semi-finals, soon built early momentum following a clearance of 91. After O’Sullivan did not make the most of a chance in the third, another break of 81 further extended his advantage.

It was turning into a vintage display from the Jester from Leicester, who produced another fine break of 105 to go into the mid-session interval in complete control at 4-0.

Following the resumption, O’Sullivan continued to make some wayward shots, going in off a red and into the top pocket as Selby went on to take the fifth frame with a 59 clearance.

The Rocket finally kicked into gear in the next frame with a break of 58, only to run out of position and then see an attempted safety shot back up the table edge the green to leave a red on.

Following couple of tense exchanges, Selby sunk a long red at pace into the bottom left corner and then dropped in a deft final red after O’Sullivan had left it just over the pocket before clearing the colours to take the frame 70-58, completing a memorable win.

During Thursday’s afternoon session at the International Centre, Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen came through a marathon four-hour contest to beat Gary Wilson 6-4.

Allen, celebrating his 38th birthday, moved into an early 2-0 lead after two half-century breaks and went into the interval 3-1 ahead with a run of 75.

Wilson, who won the BetVictor Welsh Open on Sunday, then mounted a recovery as he fought back to level at 3-3 on the back of a 76 break.

World number three Allen, though, dug in again to take frames seven and eight, before missing a match-ball chance in the next and then eventually getting the job done with a 69 break.

Allen, who had beaten former world champion Mark Williams in the first round, goes on to play Ali Carter for a place in Sunday’s final.

Gary Wilson reeled off a brilliant 147 against an outmatched John Higgins as he set up a Welsh Open final with Martin O’Donnell.

O’Donnell booked his first appearance in a ranking final when he held his nerve to see off Elliot Slessor 6-5 in Llandudno, but Wilson will head into Sunday’s showpiece on the crest of a wave after a 6-4 win took him past four-time world champion Higgins.

Wilson had been on the hunt for a maximum break in the first frame but had to settle for 104 as he missed the 14th red at the middle pocket.

He put that right in some style at the very next attempt, clearing the table with expert placement and clinical potting to bring up the fifth 147 of his own career and the 199th overall.

The Scottish Open champion received a huge ovation from the crowd at the Venue Cymru and proceeded to bank the next two frames for a 4-0 lead.

At that stage the 38-year-old looked to be cruising, but a break of 93 in the fifth finally gave the Scot a foothold.

Wilson soon re-established control to go 5-1 ahead but his golden touch deserted him as Higgins put together a run of three in a row to tease an unlikely comeback.

Higgins ran out steam in the 10th frame, with Wilson sealing a 97-4 win on the back of a 73 break.

O’Donnell had earlier survived a nervy finish of his own, going from 5-3 in front to a winner-takes-all decider.

Having previously seen off reigning world champion Luca Brecel in the quarter-final, O’Donnell dug deep to pull off a break of 126 and give himself a shot at a first title.

Judd Trump eased into the semi-finals of the German Masters with a 5-2 victory over John Higgins.

Scotland’s Higgins had taken an early 2-1 lead but Trump came roaring back in Berlin with four consecutive frames, including a run of three half-century breaks.

Trump will play Sam Craigie in the last four after he reached the semi-finals of a ranking event for the first time with a 5-1 defeat of Ali Carter.

The 30-year-old confidently dispatched the defending champion in Berlin.

Carter was noticeably below par and allowed his opponent to storm into a 4-0 lead before finally getting on the board in the fifth frame.

But it came too late to alter the outcome, as a break of 89 saw Craigie progress to the last four.

The other semi-final will see Kyren Wilson take on Si Jiahui after both came through their respective last-eight meetings.

Wilson was a 5-0 winner against Fan Zhengyi whilst Jiahui won through 5-2 against Ryan Day.

The final will take place on Sunday.

Mark Allen produced a break of 86 in the final-frame decider to oust John Higgins and advance to the quarter-finals of the Masters.

A week after teenage sensation Luke Littler thrilled during the World Darts Championship it was two old-timers that were starring at Alexandra Palace.

Higgins, a two-time champion, looked to be in control as back-to-back 80-plus breaks put him 3-1 up.

But world number three Allen won the next two scrappy frames, thanks to some wayward potting by Higgins to draw level.

The Northern Irishman had to wait until frame seven to make his first half-century break as he took the lead for the first time and then a sumptuous 123 clearance – the best of the match – put him one frame away.

Higgins had been looking beaten for the previous 30 minutes but summoned his renowned fighting spirit to reduce the deficit after winning the tactical battle and then sent it to a decider with a 61 break.

But hopes of a comeback were put to bed as Allen produced his decisive break to set up a last-eight tie with either Robert Milkins or Mark Selby.

He said: “It wasn’t a phenomenal contest, we were both a bit edgy, but any win against John is a good win so I will take it.

“Strangely I didn’t feel too bad in the last frame because 5-3 to 5-5 I didn’t feel like I’d done much wrong.

“I missed two really tricky shots, so I was looking forward to getting a chance and when John missed that long red I was fearing the worst but I got another chance and I made the most of it.”