English Open: Judd Trump beats Kyren Wilson 5-1; Mark Selby reaches semi-finals

Wilson got the better of Trump when the pair met in last season's World Championship, before Trump avenged that loss at the recent European Masters, and the world number one was dominant again here as he produced his best snooker of the week.

Trump can count himself lucky to still be in the tournament having come back from the dead on a couple of occasions already this week but he signalled a return to something like his best against Gary Wilson on Thursday evening and was in blistering form here.

Wilson will rue a missed red in the fifth frame when he had the opportunity to reduce his arrears to 3-2 but in truth, he was always on the back foot after Trump had raced into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 56 and 53.

Wilson got himself up and running when responding with an assured run of 84 but Trump was quickly back in the driving seat thanks to a fabulous century in frame four that was highlighted by an outrageous long green.

When Wilson failed to get himself back into the contest in a fifth frame that could have gone either way, the writing was on the wall and Trump finished the match with his second century of the evening, a dazzling hand of 101 putting him in pole position to win his first title of the new season.

Trump, however, was quick to downplay his performance afterwards, telling Eurosport: "I felt terrible, honestly. I felt edgy, I didn't feel relaxed at all, and in the balls I felt I was going to miss everything so I'm pleased to get the win. I didn't feel comfortable at any point.

"I've struggled with the table the whole tournament. I've found the table very heavy and haven't been able to get in my rhythm. If you don't get through the ball out there you'll miss - the side reacts a lot. I struggled with the touch shots.

"I've not really felt in my element out there in this tournament, I've just been battling through, and even today, with the amount of chances I had, I should have won 5-0 really.

Looking ahead to Saturday's semi-final with Higgins, Trump added: "I love playing John, the same with Ronnie; they are two of the best players ever and it's a game I always get myself up for."

Selby defies 'crap' performance

Defending champion Mark Selby overcame what he described as a 'crap performance' to see off Zhou Yuelong and book his place in the semi-finals.

Having won the European Masters last month, Selby was stretching his unbeaten record to 10 matches in seeing off the Chinese youngster but he was quick to state his displeasure at his performance, and the cold conditions, afterwards.

He told Eurosport: "It wasn't enjoyable out there, that's for sure. You sort of lose the feeling in every shot, but overall it was a crap game - I'm just happy to get through.

"I tried to get on with it when I got a chance. I was trying to do that but then every time you get in you probably miss a silly ball and then obviously the frames go scrappy and it drags out a little bit. It's hard then to get back into any sort of rhythm.

"I'm used to long matches, it's usually where I come into my own, I still felt fresh out there. It was just a crap performance."

Despite Selby's frustration, he rarely looked in any trouble once levelling the scores at 2-2 having watched Yuelong pick his pocket with a cool clearance of 51 in the third frame.

From there on in, Selby bossed proceedings, breaks of 72 and 52 in the same frame ensuring he went into the mid-session interval all square before returning from the resumption in a more positive mood as he noticeably picked up the pace when in the balls.

Although unable to cut out the unforced errors, Selby's excellent safety game proved too much for Yuelong to handle in frames five and six and the three-times world champion closed out the match with a fluent contribution of 56 in the seventh frame.

Selby will face Neil Robertson in the last four after the Australian outclassed Robbie Williams 5-2 with a fine showing that featured three century breaks.

Robertson actually lost the opening frame but contributions of 56, 87 and a tournament-high break of 140 quickly turned the match in his favour.

Two more centuries (100 and 133) saw Robertson finish in style as Williams' excellent week was finally brought to an end.

John Higgins confirmed his place in the last four thanks to a commanding, if not always convincing, 5-1 victory over Jak Jones.

Playing in his first ranking quarter-final, Jones failed to reproduce either the fireworks of the early rounds or the scrappy fortitude of his last-16 victory over Matthew Stevens, paving the way for Higgins to continue his serene progress.

The Scot couldn't double his centuries tally for the tournament but didn't need to, and after the first two frames were shared he pulled away, completing victory with three half-centuries in succession.