Brilliant Bingham blitzes Murphy and faces Trump in Masters semi-final

Judd Trump escaped from the jaws of defeat to beat Barry Hawkins and book his place in the semi-final of the Masters where he will meet Stuart Bingham, who whitewashed Shaun Murphy.

Trump, the 2019 champion trailed Hawkins 5-4 in their best-of-11 last-eight encounter at Alexandra Palace. But Trump, who earlier matched the highest break of the week with a 143, delivered a clearance of 107 in the 10th frame to set up a decider.

Hawkins was first to get among the balls but Trump required just one opportunity to take a tense finale with a break of 81, securing his sixth semi-final spot.

“It was a tremendous atmosphere, and certainly up there with the top three I have ever played in or experienced,” said Trump, who came back from 5-3 down to beat Ryan Day in his opening match earlier this week.

“I felt in control at the end, as if I knew I was going to clear up. I made some good breaks from 4-3 down. I had to hang in there at the start when I was struggling, but towards the end I felt that if I could get my hand on the table I was going to score heavily.

“It’s a nice feeling to win another close one. It gives me confidence to do that when my back was against the wall.”

Stuart Bingham was in sensational form as he compiled two centuries on his way to a 6-0 thrashing of Shaun Murphy. Photograph: Steven Paston/PA

The evening’s game was a much more one-sided affair as Bingham, the 2020 Masters champion, outscored Murphy by 596 points to 73. Bingham has had a poor season but had little trouble in beating Kyren Wilson 6-3 in the first round and carried on where he left off, totally dominating with breaks of 128 and 113.

“He was lucky to get nil, how well I played. An unbelievable performance,” he said. “This venue brings the best out of me. Unbelievable crowd. Sorry it was 6-0, early night.”