Hawkins beats Allen to reach UK final against Trump

Judd Trump reached his fourth UK Championship final with a comfortable 6-2 victory over world champion Kyren Wilson at the Barbican in York.

While the match failed to scale the heights of the expected blockbuster between the world's top two ranked players, the outcome provides Trump with a small measure of revenge after his losses to Wilson in the finals of the Xi'an Grand Prix and Northern Ireland Open earlier this term.

World number one Trump had looked slightly out of sorts in the opening two frames, with a purposeful Wilson enjoying a run of 62 to lead 2-0.

However, the momentum shifted spectacularly the other way with Trump then reeling off six consecutive frames against an opponent who looked shorn of confidence.

A 43rd century of the season allowed Trump to draw level and with Wilson's play punctuated by loose safety shots, unexpected missed pots and moments of misfortune, he took full advantage.

A run of 65 helped Trump go 5-2 up and he sealed his win with another century break.

"He missed a couple of pots with the rest which he doesn't normally miss and it kind of changed the game," said Trump.

"I was able to pot the long ones after the interval. I was getting in from his break-off and getting a good lead or winning the frame. He didn’t do that much wrong. Overall I am very happy to win."

Trump's success also dashed Wilson's hopes of becoming the first player to win the world and UK titles in the same year since Mark Selby in 2016.

And it ensured that Trump, who is aiming to win the tournament for the first time since 2011, has tipped his earnings for the season over £1m regardless of the result in Sunday's final against either Mark Allen or Barry Hawkins.

After so much, hype, hope and expectation of a classic contest it proved to be a slightly underwhelming affair given the quality of the two players on show.

While Trump made two centuries, there were only two other breaks in excess of 50 and both players struggled to find their normal rhythm despite being presented with numerous opportunities to score heavily.

But while the tournament has reached the one-table set-up stage both Wilson and Trump stressed that early-event concerns over the conditions have not gone away.

"I don't like to drop anyone in it but for me you have to be looking at the table fitters. The tables have been really poor all week. Every time I have played, they have been drifting to the right and even today, with just one table to focus on, it was the same scenario," said Wilson.

"When you lose faith in the table you start to question your technique and wonder if you are putting side on the ball and you play different shots to the ones you would normally.

"If World Snooker want to have these great matches and these great rivalries, they need to be looking at conditions a bit more.

"Something is going on, whether the floor is not quite level... something needs looking at because unfortunately the fans are not going to get value for money. It did not just happen to me, it happened to Judd a few times.

"It is disappointing because you want these majors in perfect conditions."

Trump added: “It was tricky. I think there was black I played towards the end that rolled off quite a lot and ended up missing.

"As long as the table is not rolling off it is playable which it was a little bit today."

In response, a World Snooker spokesperson said: "Our table-fitting team work to the highest standards, often through the night, to ensure the best possible playing conditions.

"However, they can only respond to the issues which get reported by players. Only two condition report sheets have been submitted this week.

"We always welcome feedback from players and encourage them to engage with us to make sure that table conditions are as good as they can be."