The World Grand Prix semi-finals are on Saturday’s schedule with a blockbuster lineup at the Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong.
Crowds are expected to attend in huge numbers with four former world champions still in the hunt for the £180,000 top prize.
Let’s take a look at the two World Grand Prix semi-finals.
Judd Trump vs Stuart Bingham
Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham face off in the second last-four fixture on Saturday’s World Grand Prix schedule.
Trump orchestrated a masterclass in heavy scoring during his 5-0 thumping of Hossein Vafaei in the last eight on Friday.
Fresh from having a day off following the withdrawal of last-16 opponent Jack Lisowski, Trump compiled an impressive haul of four century breaks against the Iranian.
That included contributions of 145 and 146, the highest breaks of the tournament so far and taking his season tally of tons to 84.
Bingham, by contrast, had a far tougher outing but managed to claw back a 4-2 deficit and deny Mark Selby in a deciding frame.
The victory keeps the 2015 world champion in the running for a spot at the Players Championship later this month in Telford.
The top 16 from the one-year rankings will qualify, but Bingham will have to reach the final in Hong Kong to break into that bracket in time.
Overcoming Trump when the world number one is in this kind of form will be difficult, but Bingham has beaten his countryman in high-profile encounters in the past.
That said, Trump will naturally go into this affair as the favourite as he chases down a fourth trophy of the campaign.
When is it? Saturday, March 8th at 11:30am UTC
Neil Robertson vs Shaun Murphy
First up on the penultimate day of action will be another stellar showdown between Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy.
Both players boast silverware from this season, with Robertson winning the English Open and Murphy recording success at the prestigious Masters in January.
Although the former enjoys the upper hand when it comes to their head-to-head record, Murphy beat Robertson 6-2 en route to victory at the Alexandra Palace.
In the quarter-finals this week, the Magician produced a two-ton display in ousting the in-form John Higgins – last week’s World Open champion.
Robertson scored similarly strongly as he fought his way back from 3-1 behind to deny Xiao Guodong by the same 5-3 scoreline.
Both Murphy and Robertson are former World Grand Prix champions and are more than familiar with high-pressurised situations like these.
One added element to their latest match against one another, however, is their pursuit of an automatic ticket to the season-concluding World Championship.
Robertson is provisionally in 17th in the Race to the Crucible standings and Murphy is two spots lower, with only the top 16 gaining seeding status in Sheffield.
Reaching the World Grand Prix final for either would go a long way to guaranteeing a successful return to the Crucible.
When is it? Saturday, March 8th at 5am UTC
2025 World Grand Prix Draw
Round of 32
Judd Trump 4-2 Gary Wilson
Jack Lisowski 4-2 Zhang Anda
Hossein Vafaei 4-3 Si Jiahui
Xu Si 4-3 Ding Junhui
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Mark Williams
Wu Yize 4-0 Pang Junxu
Jimmy Robertson 4-2 Mark Allen
Mark Selby 4-3 Jackson Page
Xiao Guodong 4-3 Jak Jones
Lei Peifan 4-2 Elliot Slessor
David Gilbert 4-3 Chris Wakelin
Neil Robertson 4-0 Yuan Sijun
Barry Hawkins 4-1 Tom Ford
Shaun Murphy 4-3 Ben Woollaston
John Higgins 4-3 Ali Carter
Kyren Wilson 4-3 Matthew Selt
Round of 16 (bo7)
Matches to be played on Thursday, March 6th
Judd Trump w/o Jack Lisowski
Hossein Vafaei 4-3 Xu Si
Stuart Bingham 4-2 Wu Yize
Mark Selby 4-2 Jimmy Robertson
Xiao Guodong 4-3 Lei Peifan
Neil Robertson 4-1 David Gilbert
Shaun Murphy 4-1 Barry Hawkins
John Higgins 4-2 Kyren Wilson
Quarter-Finals
Judd Trump 5-0 Hossein Vafaei
Stuart Bingham 5-4 Mark Selby
Neil Robertson 5-3 Xiao Guodong
Shaun Murphy 5-3 John Higgins
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Judd Trump vs Stuart Bingham (11:30am UTC)
Neil Robertson vs Shaun Murphy (5am UTC)
Click here to see the latest scores and results
(snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
