2024 Shanghai Masters snooker: Judd Trump dispatches Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach final

There will be a new name on the roll of honour as Trump - who will be appearing in the final of this event for the fourth time - faces 2019 runner-up Shaun Murphy in Sunday’s best-of-21 frames climax.

• 2024 Shanghai Masters snooker: Results, schedule, format, prize money, how to watch

Trump’s emphatic victory over O’Sullivan at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium on Saturday ended two streaks; five-time champion O’Sullivan’s incredible 21-match winning sequence in the tournament, and Trump’s poor recent head-to-head record against the seven-time world champion having lost his last five match-ups.

World number two Trump went 2-0 up (51 break, frame two) before his opponent got on the board with an effort of 95 in frame three.

O'Sullivan missed a relatively straightforward red in the fourth, though, and later in the frame Trump produced his first century of the day with a 106.

Following the mid-session interval, a sizzling Trump continued to turn on the style as he found a purple patch with runs of 128, 127 and 82 helping him move 6-1 ahead.

O’Sullivan halted Trump’s sequence of 443 unanswered points in frame eight, but the record 41-time ranking event winner was out-of-sorts amongst the balls in the final two frames of the afternoon session as Trump punished with efforts of 71 and 91 to take total control at 8-1 up.

In the evening session a few hours later, O’Sullivan briefly threatened a colossal comeback as a 71 aided him to frame 10 before chalking up consecutive frames when Trump missed the final blue whilst on a clearance in frame 11. Earlier in the frame O’Sullivan missed the final red with the rest when on a contribution of 65.

However, 34-year-old Trump - winner of five ranking event titles last season - smothered O’Sullivan’s rally as he compiled a break of 110 - his fourth ton of the day and seventh of the competition - and then completed victory in frame 13, therefore not requiring another mid-session interval.

The Shanghai Masters is one of only a few professional titles to have alluded Trump in his career, so far. He was ousted by John Higgins and Kyren Wilson via deciding frames in the 2012 and 2015 finals, respectively, and destroyed by O’Sullivan - ironically 10-3 - in the 2017 showpiece. Prior to today, that contest was the last time that Trump had faced O’Sullivan on Chinese soil in a professional capacity.

For O’Sullivan, today’s defeat was his first loss in this event since 2016.