UK Championship 2025: Judd Trump sweeps Ding Junhui aside to reach last four

Murphy, who opened 2025 by winning the Masters, is now just two matches away from winning his second Triple Crown event this year.

And unlike his win against John Higgins in the last 16, where he struggled to a decider, his match against Zhang was a much more relaxed affair, although both players were at their best.

The dire outcome of Zhang’s opening frame set the tone for what happened next.

The 33-year-old Chinese player botched a routine snooker shot and then came out of the black after a break of 65, losing control of the frame.

Murphy enjoyed a run of 88 in the second frame, which was as good as it gets; His remaining two half-centuries came in the fifth and ninth frames on a night when both players produced horrendous misses.

“I’m very happy to win but that’s the point. I think we both played below par and I made some uncharacteristic mistakes that got me into trouble,” admitted Murphy.

“I dropped the rest and almost clattered the balls, I did something wrong, I couldn’t tell you the last time I did that and there were a lot of base misses.

“Luckily I won. You always have a bad session in a tournament. I hope so tonight.”

Selby, who won the Champion of Champions award last month, underlined why he came to Yorkshire as one of the favourites.

Breaks of 61 and 115 gave him a 2-1 lead over Hawkins and he then displayed his famous match-play skills, managing to get through three successive frames, all delicately balanced.

Hawkins responded with a stunning break of 138, while Selby sealed his success with an 83-run run to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2016, the year of his second England success.