Judd Trump fires in four centuries to storm into semi-finals at UK Championship

The world number one was in unplayable form as he rifled breaks of 89, 126, 120 and 131 in the first four frames to leave his Chinese opponent cemented in his chair.

When Trump broke down on a run of 61 in the fifth frame, Zhang drew cheers for finally breaking his duck, but despite a brief rally the outcome of the match was effectively already sealed.

It marked a stunning return to top form for Trump, seeking his first UK title since 2011, who struggled in his opener against Neil Robertson then survived a final frame decider against John Higgins in round two.

And the 35-year-old is in no doubt about the reason behind his success, telling the BBC: “I put the hard work in, everyone else is looking for some quick fix.

“Some players aren’t willing to put the long hours in and to get to the top you have to do that. I do need to pace myself sometimes, but I still know after this tournament finishes, whether I win or lose, I have to get back on the practice table.”

Such is Trump’s pursuit of perfection that he expressed genuine disappointment at missing the simple red that ended his run on that break of 61 and Zhang showed plenty of fight to prolong the match and score a century of his own in frame seven.

But his chances of repeating the five-frame run that saw him hit back to sink Stuart Bingham on Wednesday night were always negligible and Trump completed the job with his fourth ton in frame eight.

“I dodged a bullet against John and sometimes when that happens you feel like you’ve got another life,” added Trump.

“I knew my form wasn’t far away, just sometimes I’ve been a little bit too cagey. Today I felt a lot better than yesterday and the day before.”

Barry Hawkins also seized his second chance as he produced a polished performance to beat Shaun Murphy 6-2 and reach the second UK semi-final of his career.

Hawkins beat Ronnie O’Sullivan in round one but survived a mighty scare in round two when David Gilbert effectively handed him the win when he missed a simple green in their final frame decider.

“I was sitting in my chair (on Wednesday) thinking whether I’m going to drive home that night or in the morning and all of a sudden I’m back at the table,” said Hawkins.

“I was qualifying last week and all you want to do is get to the main venue. This is what you play for.”

Five half-centuries, including breaks of 80 and 82 to finish the job, saw Hawkins home and left the vanquished Murphy in no doubt about the magnitude of his opponent’s performance.

“If he plays like that, he’ll win,” said Murphy afterwards. “I think he’s currently playing the best of anyone left in the tournament.”