Si Jiahui makes 147 maximum break on his way to reaching the 2024 Wuhan Open snooker final

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Si Jiahui made his first maximum 147 break in professional competition during his scintillating 6-2 semi-final win over Judd Trump at the 2024 Wuhan Open on Friday.

The 22-year-old from China - in front of a home audience - completed snooker perfection in the fourth frame of his contest against the world number one Trump; one of several big and impressive breaks that he produced.

Defending Wuhan Open champion Trump began the last four contest in style, crafting a 109 in the opening frame, however, a barrage of scoring from Si was soon to come.

The world number 13 constructed a 144 total clearance in frame two to level the match; at the time this became Si’s new highest break on the professional scene and a new benchmark for this year’s tournament.

Si went in front with the aid of a run of 61 in frame four, but the best was to arrive in the final frame before the mid-session interval as he fashioned the fourth 147 break of the 2024/25 World Snooker Tour season and the 206th recognised maximum in professional play, overall.

On resumption after the intermission, Trump was on course to reduce the gap, but missed whilst on an effort of 59, allowing Si to the table to fully punish with an 81 counter-clearance for 4-1.

Roles were slightly reversed in frame six as Si made a positional error early on and Trump later capitalised with an 89 to stay in touch.

Si was not to be denied a place in his second ranking event final, though. A 108 - his third three-figure break in just six frames - put him on the hill before a cool 71 in frame eight secured his first victory over Trump at the seventh time of asking.

The performance - considering the occasion and his opponent - must surely go down as one of Si’s greatest; possibly even his best.

Xiao Guodong produces comeback victory for Wuhan final berth

We are guaranteed a new ranking event winner as Si will face compatriot Xiao Guodong in Saturday's best of 19 frames title match - only the third all-Chinese ranking event final in professional snooker history.

In Friday’s opening session, Xiao went through to the third ranking showpiece match of his career after battling back from 4-1 down to deny world number 70 Long Zehuang, 6-4.

Long - who is from Wuhan and was appearing in his first ranked semi-final - came out on top after a scrappy opening three frames before firing the contest up with a 141 total clearance in frame four to go into the mid-session interval 3-1 up. At the time, the contribution became the tournament's highest break, surpassing the 139 benchmark that had previously been made by six different players in previous rounds.

Second-season professional Long extended his profit after the break with a 104 - posting centuries in consecutive frames - but momentum was to shift as pre-match favourite Xiao found some rhythm and rallied.

The world number 29 fashioned a 130 in frame six and a 112 in frame eight on his way to squaring up at 4-4. Xiao then went in front for the first time before completing a five-frame winning streak and going into his third ranking event final with the help of a 91 break in frame ten.

In Wuhan this week, the 35-year-old has eliminated multiple-time ranking event champions in three consecutive rounds, including a thrilling 5-4 win over World Champion Kyren Wilson in the last 32.

Xiao is already guaranteed the biggest payday of his career regardless of Saturday’s outcome. We’re only in the first half of October, but the prize money he has already earned this season makes it his most lucrative campaign, ever.

In terms of career head-to-head meetings, Si leads Xiao, 2-1.

Xiao won their first encounter in round one of the 2020 Snooker Shoot Out, but Si has claimed their two most recent at the 2022 European Masters (last 32, 5-3) and 2023 Welsh Open (last 128, 4-0).

For full details on the 2024 Wuhan Open including the draw, results, prize money, schedule and how to watch, please visit our tournament information centre here.

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