Snooker news - Judd Trump into Players Championship final after Stephen Maguire win

Maguire came back from 3-1 down to take the lead 5-3 before Trump hit back.

He won three frames in a row to secure victory, and finished with a flourish - a break of 70 which Trump rated as one of the best of his career.

“For a deciding frame that was probably the best clearance I’ve ever made," Trump said.

“I actually felt more relaxed in the decider than I had in the rest of the game, apart from the first couple of frames. Stephen put me under pressure and at 5-3 down I was gone, it was done and dusted. I managed to find something from somewhere and probably the belief of being world number one and World Champion was what helped me to make that clearance.

“It is very tough mentally and it is something that I haven’t particularly worked on, but as I’ve grown older I’ve managed to get that self belief to be able to really dig in under pressure and give myself a chance. In the past I would maybe give up a bit easier, today I really fought for it and made a brilliant break at the end.”

Earlier in the day, Shaun Murphy had completed the semi-final line-up with a 6-2 victory over Mark Allen.

Murphy plays China's Yan Bintao in the semi-finals on Saturday evening.