Judd Trump edges past Neil Robertson into Masters semi-finals

Ronnie O’Sullivan built up a 7-1 lead over a faltering Barry Hawkins to leave himself three frames short of winning the prestigious invitational event.

O’Sullivan, also a five-time world champion, had previously won the event in 1995, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2014, equaling the record set by Stephen Hendry.

Having levelled at 2-2 and then 3-3, Trump won the seventh frame to edge in front at 4-3 only for Hawkins, runner-up to O’Sullivan in the 2013 World Championship final, to then win three straight frames to book his place in the final.

The 40-year-old fought back from one frame down to pull ahead 5-1 before world number two Bingham, the reigning world champion, potted 11 reds and ten blacks in frame seven before his hopes of a 147 ended when he missed the black on 81.

“If someone had told me at the start of the week I would make it to the final and play Ronnie in the final, I would have ripped their arm off but you want to perform and I didn’t”, said Hawkins.

“I am over the moon. I felt so good against Judd in the semi-final and I was hoping to feel the same out there today but I just didn’t get going at all”. I was able to do that and managed my emotions well.

“I pulled out some good clearances and played ok but feel like I’ve got a lot left in the tank”.

“Dr Steve Peters mentioned a couple of things and I just had to focus on each ball”, he explained.

“I was really bad and my concentration was very poor”, said Higgins. “I could see he wasn’t on it but only being 2-2 at the break, I thought that was my opportunity gone”, said Bingham.

He looked patchy in a 6-5 first-round victory over Mark Williams and struggled at times in the semi-final against Stuart Bingham but the victories over Mark Selby and Hawkins were more vintage displays.

“My safety was a bit dodgy at times and I was disappointed with that last shot I played, but for him to pot that blue under pressure and finish perfectly on the pink was a great shot”. I’ll give it a go, though.

But the world number five was stunned early on as Hawkins reeled off two centuries of his own, 130 and then 128, to take the first two frames.