England’s Shaun Murphy admits he cannot wait to take on Mark Allen in the final of the Scottish Open after he battled past world number five Judd Trump in Saturday’s semi-final.

The sixth seed laid down a marker in Glasgow as he raced into a 3-0 lead tanks to breaks of 89, 93 and 70. Trump bounced back with a break of 69 but Murphy never allowed his rival to get back into the match.

Murphy and Allen are close friends, but the former has the superior record thanks to 10 wins to four. However, Allen is enjoying one of the best years of his career, while Murphy has been knocked out six times in the first round of tournaments this year.

Allen battled past Daniel Wells to reach the final and Murphy insists he is confident he can overcome his friend before enjoying a drink with him after the match.

He told World Snooker: “To play like that, having improved each match, is beyond my wildest dreams. I came here this week just trying to turn things around. I didn’t expect to be talking about going into the final. I’m really excited.

“Mark and I are very close. We are really good mates. He is in the form of his life. Tomorrow when we shake hands we will want to beat each other, but immediately after there will be hugs and maybe a few drinks.”

Murphy is the slight outsider at odds of 2.00, while Allen remains the 1.80 favourite for Sunday’s final.