Judd Trump reached his sixth final of the season - and remained on track for a fourth ranking title - as he beat Cao Yupeng 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Spreadex World Grand Prix in Leicester.
World number two Trump can look forward to a blockbuster final on Sunday, against Ronnie O'Sullivan or Ding Junhui, where he will be aiming for the 27th ranking title of his career. The 34-year-old has been prolific this season, reaching five other finals and collecting ranking titles at the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open during a golden spell in October.
After a fast start tonight, Trump was made to work hard by China's Cao, who is still waiting to win his first title. But Bristol's Trump got the job done as he booked a 42nd career ranking final and remained on course to win this event for the fourth time.
Trump's Finals This Season
Can he win fourth crown?
European Masters: Lost 9-6 to Barry Hawkins
English Open: Beat Zhang Anda 9-7
Wuhan Open: Beat Ali Carter 10-7
Northern Ireland Open: Beat Chris Wakelin 9-3
Champion of Champions: Lost 10-3 to Mark Allen
Spreadex World Grand Prix....?
Trump dominated the first three frames with breaks of 70, 106 and 61, his opponent failing to pot a ball. Cao also trailed 55-5 in frame four, but made an excellent clearance to force a respotted black, then converted a cracking long pot to a baulk corner to gain some momentum. After the interval, he controlled frame five to close to 3-2.
Frames six and seven were scrappy affairs and Trump got the better of them both for 5-2. In the eighth, he looked to be cruising past the winning post until he missed a tricky black on 60. World number 43 Cao had a chance to clear but also missed the black on 24 with two reds remaining, and that ended his hopes of a fight-back.
"I started really well and should have gone 4-0 up," said 2019 World Champion Trump. "He nicked the frame to go 3-1 and that slowed the game down, it went tight and the balls were awkward. I tried to keep going for shots to keep the game flowing and in the end I managed to get over the line. I felt really relaxed and I felt I would score if I got chances, even when things got slow and didn't go my way.
"It's nice to be the first player through to the final, I'll watch the other game and look forward to the challenge ahead. They are both amazing players. I would love to go up against Ronnie when he's in great form. Ding beat me at the UK Championship so it would be good to get revenge over him."
