Judd Trump will take on China’s Cao Yupeng in the Scottish Masters semi-finals after a comprehensive victory over Stephen Maguire. England’s Trump opened up a 2-0 lead before Maguire hit back but he was soon 4-1 up and made an excellent 43 clearance to seal victory and move into the last four.
The 28-year-old has enjoyed an up-and-down year to date, with victory in the European Masters the undoubted highlight while he also reached the final of the Shanghai Masters. However early exits in the China Championship and the Northern Ireland Open thwarted his progress while the Bristolian failed to make it past round three in the recent UK Championship. He now has an excellent chance of reaching another ranking final and will take on 27-year-old Cao for the right to face either Neil Robertson or John Higgins in Sunday’s showpiece.
The Far East ace was too good for Ricky Walden, running out a 5-3 winner over ‘The Walnut’ at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena on Friday. Aside from a visit to the semi-finals of the European Masters, the world number 67 has yet to make it past round three in any other tournaments this season and has suffered five disappointing first-round losses. Therefore he will be desperate to go all the way this time around to reach the first final of his career, and is priced at 4/1 to get the better of Trump, who can be backed at 1/5 to do the business north of the border.
Dafabet Scottish Open odds available at Dafabet.