Si compiles 147 maximum as he sweeps past Trump
- Published
Si Jiahui compiled the first 147 maximum break of his career as he beat world number one Judd Trump 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open.
Trump described Si's display as "the best performance there has been against me, by quite far".
The 22-year-old from China reeled off four consecutive frames with breaks of 144, 61, 147 and 81 after Trump had taken the opening frame with a century of his own.
While Trump took frame six with an 89, Si, who had lost his previous six meetings against the Englishman, sealed his win with another century and a run of 71.
Si will now face Xiao Guodong in a best-of-19 encounter in what will be only the third ranking final in the history of the sport to be contested by two players from China.
Xiao, 35, won five consecutive frames as he came from 4-1 down to beat his compatriot Long Zehuang, to reach the third ranking final of his career.
Both world number 29, Xiao and Si, who is ranked 13, are yet to win a ranking event.
However, Si will begin Saturday's final as the favourite after racking 672 points against Trump, who defeated him in the final of the German Masters in February.
"I've lost a lot of matches whilst making 60 plus breaks against him before, so I didn't think too much about beating him," said Si, who reached a world semi-final in 2023.
"I'd give myself nine out of 10 for the performance, with one point off for my safeties. Luck was on my side and I’m really happy to have made a 147. I've seen a lot of professional players make their first and second maximum breaks, but I hadn't even made one."
Trump, who has won the Shanghai Masters and the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters this season, added: “This is the best performance there has been against me, by quite far.
"Apart from maybe John Higgins and the odd Ronnie performance, this is as well as you can play. It was like an exhibition game for him at the end. Now people have seen that, there will be a lot more pressure on him to win the World Championship and win events."