Ding books place in final

Junhui led the match from the third frame onwards after edging the opener with some solid snookering only for a fantastic Murphy break of 126 to even the score.

Though Ding was unable to notch a century of his own, the 91 he scored in frame three was of equal quality to Murphy's previous monster break and, from there, the Chinese prodigy did not look back.

2005 world champion Murphy tried to cling onto the fourth frame despite needing two snookers for a large spell of its dying embers, but was eventually shaken off before quickly replying with a break of 90 to pull the match back to 2-3.

Indeed, only an over-cut final red towards the middle pocket denied 'The Magician' a deserved second century but it would be his final frame of the tournament.

Ding struck an 86 after Murphy had lost control of the table on 31 to regain his two-frame advantage, before sealing the semi-final victory with an assured 75 in the seventh and a back-and-forth eighth strewn with more unforced errors than perhaps any other frame.

World number one Mark Selby and Ronnie O'Sullivan, who emerged victorious in the last ranking tournament on the calendar the German Masters, will contest the second semi-final for the right to battle Ding in Sunday's final.

"The past couple of years have been difficult because I have been travelling to and from China so I haven't been able to practise properly," said Ding, who has been supported all week by a large group of Chinese fans from Cardiff University.

"If I stay here for two or three months then I miss home and I want to go to China for a week.

"In the last few weeks I have had my best practice for a long time and I feel my game is getting better. I'm really happy to be in the final and I played well today."

Murphy said of the defeat: "When you are playing the best in the world, you have to hit them hard, and I didn't do that today. I only finished two frames off in one visit and that's not good enough, I didn't take enough of my chances.

"Ding is very hard to read but he's a lovely lad and a credit to the game.

"Looking at the big picture, I'm moving up the rankings and the signs are good for the rest of the season."