Ali Carter produced a ruthless display as he reached the final of the World Grand Prix with an emphatic 6-0 drubbing of Xiao Guodong in Cheltenham.
Carter has played some of his best snooker of the season this week and was a warm favourite to make Sunday's final having defeated Mark Allen and then David Gilbert in the previous two rounds.
The Captain continued in a similar vein on Friday night, taking control of a well-contested opening frame with a break of 54 and never looking back thereafter.
The 34 points Xiao registered in that opening frame were to be the last he scored before the mid-session interval as Carter turned on the style, breaks of 99 and 71 easing him into a 3-0 lead before he produced a flawless clearance of 126 in frame four.
Total dominance from @TheCaptain147 ✈️👊
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) February 8, 2019
382 points without reply and he leads Xiao Guodong 4-0 at the mid-session. Is there any way back for Xiao?#CoralSnookerSeries pic.twitter.com/nMouiirA08
The match was all but over when the players returned but Xiao seemed certain to get on the board when leaving Carter needing a snooker just to tie the fifth frame.
Nevertheless, Carter persisted and forced a re-spotted black that he duly won thanks a brilliant long pot with the white tight on the baulk cushion.
You can't beat a bit of black ball drama ⚫⚫⚫
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) February 8, 2019
A hammer blow...#CoralSnookerSeries pic.twitter.com/G6QSt9hhGz
With Xiao's race all but run, Carter kept his focus to close out the match by taking a scrappy sixth frame and booking his place in Sunday's final.
Carter will meet either Judd Trump or Barry Hawkins, who play their semi-final on Saturday, in the final.
World Grand Prix results
- QF Mark Selby 1-5 Judd Trump
- QF Kyren Wilson 2-5 Barry Hawkins
- SF Ali Carter 6-0 Xiao Guodong
