Judd Trump to face Liang Wenbo in English Open final

But he faces a tough task in the final with Liang Wenbo winning a brilliant semi-final 6-5 against 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham, who led 4-2 but could not finish off his Chinese opponent as both players traded heavy scoring blows in a match of the highest quality

Liang - who lost the final of last year's UK Championship to Neil Robertson - produced breaks of 58, 63, 74, 134, 138, 53 and 61 to deny Bingham, who lost despite making knocks of 50, 66, 95, 89 and 116.

Fresh from lifting the European Masters title in Bucharest with a 9-8 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan a week ago, Trump again showed why he is snooker's form horse with a comfortable victory over former World Championship finalist Hawkins in his bid for a second title on successive Sundays.

Trump - who has beaten Hawkins, John Higgins, Mark Williams, Martin Gould, Jamie Bodie and Ken Doherty in reaching the final - watched Hawkins win the first frame with a 64, but he moved 3-1 clear with an 88 and a 53 before his fellow Englishman pieced together 114 in reducing his arrears to a single frame at 3-2 behind.

But Trump was dominant from that stage onwards as a 59 helped nudge him 4-2 ahead before picking up the final two frames for a merited win.

The final is live on Eurosport with exclusive coverage beginning at 1:45pm (BST) on Sunday.