Mark Allen took a giant step towards a first title of the season as he won his Unibet British Open quarter-final 5-3 on a night of mixed emotions for Judd Trump.
Trump became only the third player in snooker history to make 1,000 career centuries, joining Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins, with a ton in the second frame. But the contest finished in disappointment for the world number one as his hopes of a third title this season ended.
Allen, ranked third, goes through to the last four to face Mark Selby on Saturday night. Having won three tournaments in each of the last two seasons, the Northern Irishman has had a relatively quiet start to the current campaign and this will be his first semi-final. He'll relish a battle with Selby in Cheltenham and the opportunity to chase a 12th career ranking title.
The opening frame tonight lasted 48 minutes, resolved when Allen got the better of a safety battle on the green and cleared the table. Trump levelled with his landmark century, but Allen made a crucial 33 clearance to pinch the third frame and added the next two for 4-1.
Bristol's Trump pulled one back with a 92, and gained momentum by taking frame seven after his opponent had missed the final yellow to a baulk corner. But Allen shrugged off that mistake and dominated the next with a top run of 50 to reach his 39th ranking semi-final.
"It was frustrating that I didn't close out the match earlier because I had chances at 4-1 and 4-2," said Allen. "Any win against Judd is a good one, especially the season he is having. I have a good record against him and I feel like he knows that. There are a lot of players who don't believe they can beat Judd, but if I get a chance against him I'm capable of doing it, so to do that in a big tournament is always nice.
"It was great to be a part of history, seeing Judd make his 1,000th century. He'll be disappointed not to have won the match, but he's got that monkey off his back because everyone had been talking about the 1,000 centuries for a while."
World number 99 Oliver Lines enjoyed a huge breakthrough in his career as he beat Jak Jones 5-4 to reach his first ranking event semi-final. The 29-year-old will meet John Higgins on Saturday at 1pm.
Leeds cueman Lines turned pro in 2014 and had lost his two previous quarter-finals 5-4, but this time he was on the right side of the scoreline. In fact he has won four matches this week in the deciding frame, having beaten Lei Peifan, Ka Wai Cheung and Sunny Akani 4-3.
Breaks of 102 and 55 put Lines 2-0 ahead tonight, before Crucible runner-up Jones took the next three with top runs of 84 and 68. The next two were shared, then Lines compiled excellent breaks of 76 and 75 to win the last two.
"I know I have got it in there and I can stand up and be counted when I need to," he said. "It was nice to prove to myself and my family that I can do it. I can't put into words how good it would be to make my first ranking final, that's what I have worked my whole life for."
