'Ten percent' Trump defeats world champion Zhao to reach Champion of Champions final

'The Ace in the Pack' will face either Neil Robertson or Mark Selby in Sunday's best-of-19 frames showpiece where the winner will pocket the £150,000 first prize.

It was Crucible king Zhao who got off to the better start in the opening semi-final, though, as the Chinese cueist made breaks of 50 and 72 in establishing a 2-0 lead.

However, runs of 68 and 73 from Trump helped him to level at 2-2 going into the mid-session interval before he strung together a further four successive frames on resumption - registering efforts of 77, 66 and 63 along the way - to record a comfortable victory.

Following 4-1 and 6-2 wins across the opening two rounds, the Englishman has dropped just five frames in three matches here.

Trump - the winner of this title in 2021 - moves into his sixth Champion of Champions final; five of those have come within the last seven editions.

The 36-year-old has the chance to end a near 12-month wait for a title on the professional circuit. His last triumph came at the start of last December when he secured his second UK Championship.

Despite that trophyless spell and uncertainty over his new cue, Trump is into his second final from his last three tournament outings; he was ousted by good friend Jack Lisowski in an emotional Northern Ireland Open title match last month in Belfast.

Behind Shaun Murphy, Trump becomes only the second player this season to have reached multiple finals on the tour.

Trump says: “I’m not at 100%, I’m probably at 10%”

Following his group progression on Monday night at the Mattioli, Trump revealed concerns he had with his new cue, stating that he would probably ditch it if he doesn’t win a title either this week, or at next week’s Riyadh Season Championship in Saudi Arabia.

Back in the ITV4 studio after his latest assignment, the cue was once again a talking point for Trump, who was happy to make the final despite not really being anywhere near his best.

“I’m happy I’m in the final because I’m not at 100%, I’m probably at 10%” said the 30-time ranking event winner.

On the topic of his new equipment set-up affecting his long game, Trump added: “changing from brass to titanium [ferrule], the ball does not throw whatsoever, so I’m really struggling”.

Asked by seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry why he made the big change to a titanium ferrule, the Bristolian explained: “The conditions, for me, they’re so heavy when we play in China, and even here, and across the world.

“When I first turned professional...the tables were unbelievable. There were only two games a day, we were straight into the last 32, now you’ve got five or six games a day. Tables are so heavy that when I get down to aim...the side doesn’t react the same, so I want to be able to hit the same place on everywhere around the world. At the moment I’m brilliant on good conditions, but terrible on bad conditions”.

Robertson and Selby will contest the second semi-final on Saturday night in Leicester. For a look ahead to that tie, read our preview here.

Visit our tournament information centre here for details on the 2025 Champion of Champions including the draw, results, schedule and how to watch.