Judd Trump thrashed Daniel Wells 6-1 to book his place in the final of the inaugural Xi'an Grand Prix, surpassing Mark Allen as world number one in the process.
It’s the first time Trump has been world number one since November 2021. The £77,000 minimum prize for reaching the final draws the Englishman level with Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen at the summit. However, he is guaranteed to move ahead on count back of the most recent event.
Today’s victory extends an undefeated streak to start the season for Trump, who won the Shanghai Masters last month. He’s now won his first ten matches of the campaign. Trump has been a particularly successful in China recently, having been victorious in 24 of his last 25 matches in the country.
Next up for the 28-time ranking event winner, is a showdown with World Champion Kyren Wilson in the title match tomorrow. The victor will take home a top prize of £177,000.
Welshman Wells departs a defeated man in his third ranking event semi-final appearance. However, he can take solace from putting in his best showing since regaining professional status at the beginning of last season, following a period off the tour.
The match lasted just over two hours, as Trump blitzed to victory. He fired in runs of 67, 64, 96, 56, 63 and 99 on his way to a routine win. Tomorrow will be the 45th ranking final of Trump’s illustrious career.
Trump said: “It is nice to get back to world number one. That all goes out of the window now. I don’t want to get to world number one then lose in a final. It is all about trying to finish off what I’ve done. I had an excellent tournament in Shanghai. Not quite as good here, but I’ve done what I’ve needed to.
“In Kyren’s own mind he will have a lot more confidence and feel like he is the man to beat. I feel like over the last couple of years I’ve played well against him and done what I needed to do. He will have that extra bit of motivation after winning the World Championship, it fills you with confidence. I will have to try and shut that down early.”