Ronnie O'Sullivan finds a way and Judd Trump loses world number one spot at Wuhan Open

O’Sullivan and Chang will meet on Friday in a mouth-watering semi-final clash at the £825,000 world ranking event.

All throughout this tournament, seven-times World Champion O’Sullivan has issued scathing self-assessments on the current state of his game, even stating after his last 16 win over Stephen Maguire that he had ‘absolutely no chance’ of winning this event.

Adding a new chapter to their famous rivalry, signs were not good early on for ‘The Rocket’ as he fell 2-0 down to the newly-minted China Open Champion Selby, who was on an eight-match winning streak on the World Snooker Tour.

O’Sullivan had to find something quick, and he did so before the mid-session interval, capitalising on errors from an uncertain Selby performance with breaks of 87 and 96 to square proceedings at 2-2.

On resumption, momentum stayed with the 50-year-old as an effort of 72 nudged him in front for the first time. O’Sullivan was also looking good in frame six, but whilst in the balls he missed a black off its spot, and with the aid of a 53 - his only half-century of the tie - Selby later levelled up for 3-3.

A perfectionist, O’Sullivan managed to park the disappointment of the previous frame in the seventh, rattling in 10 reds and 10 blacks for an 80 to go back ahead, but missing a straightforward red into a corner pocket when teasing a record-extending 18th maximum break in professional competition.

No 147, but the Englishman would reach triple figures, in frame eight, wrapping up a morale-boosting 5-3 victory in style with a run of 129.

Considering UK Champion Selby’s brilliant recent form - he was in the race to become world number one at the end of this event, but that’s now over - and his own green baize struggles, this result will surely mean a lot to O’Sullivan. He dug deep to overcome a worrying start, and can be pleased with his scoring display having made five breaks over 70, including that ton in the final frame.

The last of O’Sullivan’s record 41 world ranking event titles came at the World Grand Prix in January 2024, but he moves through to the 97th ranked semi-final of his illustrious career, two more wins away from ending that sequence and collecting this week’s top prize of £175,000.

Judd Trump’s reign as world snooker number one to end after Wuhan loss

Over on the other table at the Optics Valley Gymnasium inside the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, another big story was brewing as Chang defeated standings leader Trump, 5-1.

Their first meeting on the professional snooker circuit, Chang registered runs of 67 and 69 in taking a 2-0 lead. Trump - winner of this title in its inaugural year in 2023 - got on the scoreboard with the third, but Chang went into the interval 3-1 ahead after pinching frame four having cleared the final six colours, culminating in a black ball across the top cushion.

When the players returned, Chang made it 4-1 after a 58, and completed a significant result in his career with a 132 in the sixth and final frame.

Chang is one of the hottest young properties in the sport. Having only returned to the professional ranks last season after serving a ban and earning his tour card back through winning the Asia-Pacific Championship, the 24-year-old has already made a big impact over the past 12 months or so.

The Chinese cueist reached his maiden ranking event final at the Scottish Open last December, and has racked up three maximum 147 breaks - his first two banking him a £147,000 bonus, and the latest one coming just weeks ago at the Shenzhen Open qualifiers.

Already up to world number 45 - but projected to be a lot higher later this season - Chang is this term's top century break-maker having already amassed 19.

He moves through to the second ranking event semi-final of his fledgling top-flight career where he meets a player who previously pointed him out for his talent.

As for Trump, elimination means his spell as the world number one will come to an end when the rankings are revised at the end of this competition.

The 31-time ranking event winner returned to top spot just over two years ago, but with £500,000 coming off his rolling two-year total - the amount he collected for winning the 2024 Saudi Arabia Masters - the only way he could retain his status was by lifting the trophy in Wuhan.

With Selby and Trump now both out, whoever wins between Zhao Xintong and Neil Robertson when they meet in the quarter-finals (Thursday, 12:30BST start time) is guaranteed to be world number one in a few days time.

To view the full draw, results, schedule, and other information from the 2026 Wuhan Open snooker, visit our tournament information centre here.