Wuhan Open 2023 LIVE – Judd Trump faces Wu Yize for place in final after Ali Carter beats Lyu Haotian

There’s a groan of surprise from the crowd as Trump misses a routine red to the bottom right bag. He’s been popping them in his sleep so far today, but not on this occasion.

Suddenly Wu has a decent opening to build a steady lead.

Trump leaves a red on to the bottom left corner despite pulling the cue ball right on to the baulk cushion and Wu manages to slam it down.

Position went out of the window though as a result of hampered cueing and he has to play a safety off the pink and retreat north.

Trump slams the blue to the bottom right corner and then invites the pink to join it with a fine cut up from the bottom rail. He doesn’t bother with the black and strolls off to the interval with a 4-0 lead tucked under his arm.

Trump produces a sensational cross double to sink that final red before gliding a slow-paced green from baulk down to the bottom left pocket.

It seems like a 4-0 lead is in the bag, but he can’t nick in the blue to make sure and Wu will indeed return, but he’s chasing two four-point snookers now.

The safety face-off goes the way of Wu, but Trump won’t be too dismayed with the blue and a red tight to the lower right rail. The black is also left of the yellow on its spot, so it’s far from an orthodox table as it stands.

The Chinese birthday boy mops up the remaining reds bar one, preying heavily upon the pink, but can’t manage to nudge the final red free.

He plays a safety and thinks he’ll have another look at the table….

Judd follows up an early sighter by cutting a red into the corner left bag with the rest. He doesn’t fuss over position as the black is hanging over the right corner, although he does require the extension to drop it down.

The Ace in the Pack then blasts a black to the bottom left, deliberately nicking off a red in a congested area to gain an excellent angle on the red to the opposite pocket.

More use of the rest to shunt in a red to bottom right before a cut up from the left corner sees him produce a sublime fine cut on the black to regain optimum position just when the cue ball was beginning to stray a touch.

Judd slots a red from mid-range to the bottom left via the rest and the opportunity that had presented itself for Wu is now all Trump’s.

He has to make adjustments along the way as a lack of pace following a pot on the pink to the bottom left pocket means he has to use the extension to clip in using a plant to the right corner.

He makes it look easy and then tucks in a black too the left corner, dropping in behind the final red on the bottom rail to ease it in and leave Wu needing snookers.

A clinical pot on the black moves him up to baulk to take care of the yellow and he clears up to the blue to surge into a 3-0 lead and it’s already looking bleak for Wu.

Wu slams in an eye-catching red but there’s a sense of déjà vu as his break ends prematurely on 37 when he catches the jaw with a red aimed to the bottom right.

Another chance for Trump to try and make him pay.

It’s a messy opening to Frame 3.

Wu doesn’t do his confidence any good with a miss on a red down to the middle left pocket from baulk.

Trump rubs salt in his wounds with a tougher cut on the same red into the opposite middle bag.

The Ace in the Pack nicks in a brown to move down to the pack but can’t fizz a long, adventurous red into the green pocket.

Trump takes aim with a mid-range red down the right of the table but the ball jiggles with the jaws and bounces out.

Wu can’t make anything of the reprieve and a cannon off the red as he tried to play a safety behind the black leaves the red on to the middle left.

Judd knocks it in and produces a fine cut on the black before sinking the yellow to leave Wu needing a snooker.

The green is in an ugly spec just north of the middle pocket and Trump ends up playing a snooker that leaves the colour hidden behind the brown.

Wu fouls, Judd cuts in the green and that’s curtains for the birthday boys in this frame.

It is costly… but not at the expense of the frame just yet.

Judd pops Wu’s missed red to that bottom left pocket and follows with a red, blue, red pattern that puts him firmly on course to turn the deficit around.

The final two reds are the key and the Juddernaut beautifully guides a tough red from a high angle to the bottom right, only to see a cannon off the green thwart his hopes of a clearance.

The Chinese, who is 20 today, lays a delightful trap of his own behind the green, forcing an error out of Trump off the right rail and a foul off the black.

Wu tries to take full advantage but blows a make-able red to bottom left. That could be costly!

Trump ends a brief impasse with a long red that sees him drift back to baulk. He opts against a pot and rolls in-behind the brown, which is a clever snooker as the pack has split invitingly for whoever gets a first nibble at them.

Wu ponders his escape and enjoys a slice of luck with a nick off the blue which moves the cue ball towards the upper left rail and leaves nothing on for Judd.

Wu looks to make an instant response and an explosive long pot of his own has some members of the Chinese crowd cheering loudly in an attempt to help inspire him.

He’s ticking along nicely, but runs overlong on a pot on the black and needs to play a safety by licking off the left side of the pack up to baulk.

However, that doesn’t quite go to plan as he ends up in-off in the yellow pocket!

Judd is first to show with a rocket of a long pot to punish Wu’s safety that fell well shy of baulk.

It’s not just the pot, it’s the perfect position too as he lands sweetly on the black to help make short work of a few reds set free and south of the pack.

A clinical blue to the middle left then enables him to cannon into the top of the pack and provide a split that presents a frame-winning opportunity.

The way Judd has been playing in the past few weeks, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion and with the frame in the bag the century duly follows. A huge score looks to be on the cards be he goes in-off heading into the colours and ends on a run of 117, which is a rather impressive statement of intent to kick things off.

Here we go then, it’s the best off 11 frames – first to six – for the chance to face-off with Carter for the trophy on Sunday.

This is just their second meeting with Trump triumphing 4-1 at the WST Classic earlier this year.

Hello and welcome to LIVE updates from the second semi-final of the 2023 Wuhan Open.

The boys are at the baize from 12.30 BST.

That’s it for now, but we’ll have all the action from the second semi-final to come a little bit later on (with coverage starting from 12:15 BST). Judd Trump is the big favourite, but can birthday boy Wu Yize spring a surprise? Bye for now!

It really was top-tier stuff from Carter after the interval. He has now reached three ranking event finals this year, having won the German Masters and finished runner-up at the Players Championship. He’s in excellent form. As for Lyu, he can take solace in a semi-final appearance and, of course, he’ll always have that great win over O’Sullivan.

Carter played the better snooker throughout, but he could not get away from Lyu in the opening four frames. But he came back in fantastic fashion to reach the 13th ranking event final of his career.

What a win for Carter! He rounds off with a closing break of 70 and he takes his place in the Wuhan Open final, in which he’ll face either Wu Yize or Judd Trump!

Precise potting from Carter to get the frame – and the match – won! The yellow cuts in, and he breezes through the brown and blue to wrap things up.

Ali ticks over a half-century. Once again, he’s fully capitalised on Lyu’s mistake. It appears that last error from the Chinese youngster will prove a fatal one.

Carter responds with a plant, cutting one red into another and sending both into the bottom corner. Whether he wanted that outcome or not, he’s up and running, and he follows that up with a fine red into the opposite pocket. He chips off a black, and comes up the table for a red into the middle pocket. He’s under way, and this could be the frame that settles it…

What a shocker! Lyo started this frame confidently but the mistakes are back, as he fails to sink a black and leaves the red hanging over a corner pocket.

Foul! That’s a slack effort from Carter, who doesn’t get enough onto a double when trying to ease the cue ball onto a red. He’ll go for it again… and this time he does get it right.

Bad miss! Well, it’s another errant shot from Lyu, who raced to 41 but then fails to slice in a red, which he was trying to use as a way to screw the white back into the pack. Ali plays safe in response.

Lyu will know the odds are stacked against him, but he starts off the scoring in frame eight with an exquisite long pot into the bottom-left corner. It’s now or never for the home favourite.

Another excellent break from Carter, who has one foot into the final! Ali has been in scintillating form since the interval, and if he wins the next frame, he’ll be into Sunday’s showdown!

Supreme from Ali! He gives himself a bit to do after failing to screw into the bunch, yet he pulls off a superb cut of the a red into the middle pocket to keep the break going. It must be demoralising for Lyu, who can only watch on as his opponent seals a third straight frame. The final red doesn’t sink, but that is just fantastic from Carter.

After a cagey start, it’s Carter who draws first blood and then swiftly establishes a decent lead. There’s a real verve to The Captain’s play right now, and with plenty of reds strewn around the table, Ali’s got a lot to go at.

The second semi-final will take place between home hope Wu Yize and Judd Trump, who is fresh off his triumph at the English Open last week.

What a break from Carter! Job done, as Ali brings up his 388th career century break. It’s 4-2 and the five-time ranking event champion has the Wuhan Open final in his sights!

Now it’s all about the frame score for Carter, who has pounced fully on that rash attempt at a thin black from his younger opponent to claim the first century frame of the match – and his third ton of the tournament. Ali’s clearly come back from the break full of confidence after losing that 45-minute fourth frame, and Lyu has been spending plenty of time in that chair.

Ali makes this visit to the table count, building a healthy lead through methodical pots of the blue and black. A long shot into the top-right corner sets up a frame-sealing black, which The Captain duly cuts into the bottom-right pocket.

Lyu starts off with a red and then a yellow, but he gets far too much on his next shot and then plays a terrible shot into the bunch, just about cutting the black on the way.

Lyu, of course, is into this semi-final after his fine win over Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last eight. Here’s what the defeated world number one had to say after Friday’s match. O’Sullivan said: “There is nothing left for me to achieve in snooker. I wish there was something for me to go for. I’ve achieved more than I could ever imagine and more than any other snooker player on the planet. Lyu played very well. He didn’t miss much, scored well, played good safety and potted some good pressure balls. Credit where it is due. I could have played a bit better, but I didn’t do a lot wrong.”

Excellent stuff from Carter, who is back in front!

Well, talk about a strong start! Carter was frustrated in that last frame but he’s started this one with plenty of intent, and plenty of quality to go with it! He does not even need to break up the bunch as he picks off red after red, and he has the frame won without any hassle. Lyu hardly got off his seat. He has a century firmly in his sights, but just slacks up on a red right at the end.

That’s the interval done and dusted and we are back up and running in this intriguing semi-final at the Wuhan Open.

There’s been some great shots so far… and, some not so great ones, too. Here’s that earlier attempt from Lyu in frame two, where he sliced the blue up the cushion and sent the cue ball into the reds.

That was a long, tactical and at times tense fourth frame, but Lyo held his nerve to restore parity once more. Could this semi-final be set to go the distance? Remember, it’s first to six wins.

Lyu does the job and Carter marches off as the interval begins. It’s all square!

An excellent shot from Lyu means Carter has to put lots of power on the red to get it clear of danger. The Captain gets unlucky with the rebound, though, and Lyu has a simple pot to finish it off.

Carter’s back in the frame, though his snooker attempt is not the best, and Lyu manages to pull off a pretty standard double off the cushion. A snooker, of course, is Ali’s only route to winning this frame.

No! Lyu does pot that red but he needs to finish on a high-scoring colour to put the frame beyond doubt. He goes for the blue, but misses, and Ali is still in it!

Carter can only chip in with a contribution of eight before missing a red, and that leaves Lyu with a simple finish to surely wrap things up?

Lyu gets going with a red and then uses the rest to hammer in the black. There was a bit of venom in that! The cue ball breaks up the remaining reds, and has to use a prop again to go onto the pink. But from there the 25-year-old keeps in control, moving around the bottom of the table, revolving around the black. He ends up needing red-black-red to seal the frame, but he can’t get it done, and after a run of 54, the frame is still open.

Carter is annoyed with himself – again! He overhit a red into the bottom corner, leaving himself with few alternatives to a tough shot on the black. He goes for it, but can’t pull it off.

Lyu tries to rest up to the nearest red but it’s a tough double and he gets his execution all wrong. Carter springs up to the table… Could this be his chance?

A sloppy shot from Lyu sees a red send the black into the bottom-left, and Carter tops up with a single red before nestling the cue ball right behind the blue, at the other end of the table to the bunch.

Carter uses the rest to pot down the cushion, but instead of trying to get a run going, the Englishman sends the cue ball expertly behind the yellow. Can Lyu respond?

Unlucky! Carter manages to clip a red from a tight angle, but he puts too much on the cue ball and it rolls back into the open middle pocket. Lyu is back up…

After a foul, Lyu regains composure to play an excellent safety shot down the line.

Foul! A series of unfortunate events there for Ali, whose attempt to break up the bunch backfires as two reds cannon into each other and send the black into the bottom-left pocket.

Excellent shot by Lyu, who trickles the cue ball off the right-hand cushion and just into the red closest to the bottom of the table to avoid a foul. No give in this frame just yet!

Mistake from Lyu, and Carter capitalises, sinking the first red of the frame into the middle pocket. But Ali’s hanging his head in frustration after a double-kiss leaves him with little on.

After all that, Lyu can’t get a run going either, and it’s back to safety shots for now.

Ali misses a long shot as he attempts to leave Lyu with little to play for. He goes for the same effort a second time, but misses again, and he’ll now have to try something different after receiving a warning from the referee. This time he goes for the simple way out, but it leaves Lyu on the front foot. Carter couldn’t have afforded to miss again, though, or it would have been the end of the frame.

Another dominant frame from Carter, who restores his lead.

And there’s no chance of Ali giving Lyu a second chance. He moves into an unassailable lead and methodically moves around the table. A fierce pot of the brown just leaves him with too much to do on the next red, though.

Oh dear. Another torrid miss, this time from Lyu, who sends a red well, well wide of the middle pocket. Ali is back up and surely won’t let this frame slip from here?

Wonderful stuff from The Captain, who opens up the table with a brave, but superbly executed, attacking shot. He looks like he’s getting on a roll here… But, oh no! Another sloppy miss! And that ends what had been a hugely promising break!

The duo exchange from safety shots before Lyu gets tempted into a difficult pot on the middle pocket. He gets too much on it, and Ali has a chance to build a run…

An enthralling frame comes to a close as Lyu fails to sink the black, but it matters not. It’s 1-1 in this best-of-11 match.

Well, after a bad shot resulted in Lyu snookering Carter, the Chinese talent is up and running. Ali will rue his miss – there were several chances for him to get that frame won.

Miss! Ali somewhat rushes a double attempt, and now Lyu will surely sweep up.

It does feel a bit like ‘next ball winner’ at the minute, with both players knowing they cannot leave a margin for their opponent.

Lyu avoids the foul with a sensational swerving shot, but that leaves Carter with a potential pot. It’s a long one, though, and he can’t quite get it right, though the cue ball nestles safely enough.

Fantastic snooker from this pair! First, Lyu leaves Carter with plenty of work to do in order to clip the red, but then Ali responds by putting the cue ball right behind the brown.

Lyu, seemingly concerned by where the cue ball would end up, fails to land the final red, and Ali is back up. The 44-year-old can’t do much with it, though, so has to settle for a safety, and Lyu then follows suit.

It’s a bit messy from Carter, who goes for some tactical shots but each time his execution is just slightly off. He sizes up a cross-table plant, which he has to use the rest for, but this time he gets it spot on! Ali follows that up with another wonderful shot that cannons off the blue and opens up two reds blocking the black to open up the frame. He’s done the hard work, but then, oh no! A simple red into the middle pocket misses and now Lyu has the opportunity to level the match!

Well, that slice of good fortune only got Lyu so far, as his contributions ends at 33 after he misses what looked like a relatively routine pink into a middle pocket.

Fluke! Lyu aims to cut the blue into the middle and send the cue into the cluster of reds in order to free the pink, but misses… Oh, wait! The blue trickles up along the cushion and sinks at the top of the table. Lyu acknowledges his luck, but could that be the moment he gets going?

Mistake from Ali! He uses a rest but gets it all wrong, slicing across a red he was trying to send into the bottom-left corner, and Lyu is now back at the table.

An attempted safety from Lyu goes awry, but Carter can’t take advantage. Lyu recovers with a run of neat pots, but he cannot keep the break going.

That is as strong a start as you could wish to see in a semi-final. Fantastic from Carter, who finishes with breaks of 64 and 81. Emphatic!

Carter wraps up the frame with a neat red into the bottom-right, and what a fantastic start it has been from the world number 11! Ali then calmly sweeps his way through the reds and clears up the colours, working his way down the table to get off to a flyer!

So unlucky! Carter looked on form for a 147 to start this match, but he just overscrews on a black into the bottom-right pocket and finds the cue ball up the table. He goes to slice the next red into the bottom-left, but it just clips away off the cushion. Lyu, though, cannot make his stay on the table last longer than one shot, as he misses an attempt for the middle pocket.

Having overcome Mark Allen in the quarters, Carter is certainly in strong form, and he has started this match in some style, reeling off six blacks before keeping himself on course for a huge score by hitting his next red into the middle pocket to line himself back up to the black.

It was a brilliant win for Lyu on Friday, as he sent world number one O’Sullivan packing with the minimum off fuss. The 25-year-old is into his first ranking event semi-final, and is up against a player, in Carter, who has won five ranking titles.

Welcome to our live coverage of the Wuhan Open! We’re into the semi-finals today, and first off it’s Lyu Haotian – fresh from his stunning 5-1 win over Ronnie O’Sullivan – takes on Ali Carter. We’ll be under way very shortly!

Ronnie O’Sullivan was sensationally knocked out by Lyu Haotian in the Wuhan Open quarter-finals after a comprehensive 5-1 defeat.

O’Sullivan has now failed to reach the semi-finals of a ranking event since the 2022 World Championship, and his world No. 1 ranking is now under threat.

Haotian will face Ali Carter in the last four on Saturday.