Players Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan beaten by Trump

In an eagerly-anticiapted showdown, Trump took early control of the contest when a fine break of 113 saw him open up a 3-1 lead.

The Rocket pulled one back and then made a superb break of 109 when trailing 4-2 to keep his comeback hopes alive.

However Trump kept his cool in the eighth frame when a run of 60 saw him clinch his place in the semi-finals, where he will meet either Ali Carter or Neil Robertson, who meet on Thursday afternoon. 

"It was getting kind of edgy, but I kind of felt like I controlled the whole game and it was mine to lose," Trump said in an interview with www.worldsnooker.com.

"The main difference was probably the safety (play), which was even better than my long potting, and every time he went to the table, he was in a bit of trouble, so I think if I can keep that up it is going to create a lot of chances."

Earlier in the day, Ding Junhui won five frames in a row to claim a stunning 5-4 victory over John Higgins to book his quarter-final spot. 

Higgins stormed into a 4-0 lead, with breaks of 70 and 68 in the opening two frames, as he moved to the brink of setting up a last eight showdown with Anthony Hamilton on Friday.

But Chinese star Ding had other ideas, pulling one back before making successive breaks of 83, 67, 107 and 59 to pull off a stunning comeback.

Ding, who has now won seven of their last eight meetings, told worldsnooker.com: "When I was 4-0 down I just wanted to win one frame. I kept going and made breaks to get to the decider. I then turned my focus to winning as I’m good at winning deciding frames."

Ali Carter also came through a final-frame decider as he beat Shaun Murphy 5-4 to advance to the quarter-finals.

Carter hit two century breaks (115, 107) in a high-quality contest which saw Murphy, the recent Gibraltar Open winner, also make one of 110.

But at 4-4, Carter held his nerve with a break of 51 to set up a clash with Neil Robertson on Thursday afternoon.

Carter said: "Shaun is a player I seem to have good matches against, he’s in form after winning the title last week so I’m delighted to get through.

"I’ve not beat Neil since 2013, I’ve come off on the wrong end of a few results where he has played very well. 

"I’m due a win, it’s good to have a crack at him. In that period of time I’ve played him lots of times but I was going through my illness at the time and I hope it’s a good match."

The Players Championship, with a £125,000 first prize, is the penultimate event before the seeding cut-off falls for the World Championship which starts in Sheffield on April 15. 

Wednesday results & Thursday schedule

Wednesday March 8
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
First Round (Best of 9 frames)
Ding Junhui (5) 5-4 John Higgins (12)
Ali Carter (6) 5-4 Shaun Murphy (11)

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV Coverage: ITV4
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Ronnie O'Sullivan 3-5 Judd Trump

Thursday March 9
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
TV Coverage: ITV4
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Neil Robertson v Ali Carter

Evening Session (1900 GMT)
TV Coverage: ITV4
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Mark Selby v Marco Fu 

Click here for full tournament results & schedule