Snooker World Grand Prix 2016: Saturday Results, Updated Draw and Reaction
Stuart Bingham and Shaun Murphy will contest the final of the Snooker World Grand Prix after they progressed in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Bingham edged out Joe Perry 6-5 in a thrilling afternoon matchup in Llandudno, Wales, before Murphy beat Ding Junhui 6-3.
Read on for a closer look at both encounters, but first, here are the confirmation of those results and the schedule for Sunday:
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| Stuart Bingham | 6-5 | Joe Perry |
| Ding Junhui | 3-6 | Shaun Murphy |
| Sunday, March 13 | 7 p.m. GMT | Stuart Bingham vs. Shaun Murphy |
Saturday Recap
Perry enjoyed a magnificent start in the first semi-final, as he quickly took a 3-0 lead after building on an 82 break in the opener.
He showed some brilliant skill along the way, per World Snooker:
Bingham refused to lie down, though, and pulled one back at 3-1 before the interval courtesy of this excellent pot of the brown:
The Englishman maintained his momentum after the interval and fought his way back to 3-3. He almost edged ahead for the first time in the match as he racked up 60 in the next. Perry came in to clear only to miss the black, but Bingham wasn't able to punish the error and went behind once more when his opponent finished it off:
A stunning 97 break moved the pair level again at 4-4, but Perry went within one frame of victory thanks to some good fortune:
Bingham remained resilient and forced a decider as he continued to produce some excellent shots:
Indeed, he didn't even allow Perry to get on the board in either of the final two frames as Bingham romped home to complete his impressive comeback:
Live Snooker confirmed the result, while Eurosport's Rolf Kalb provided their stats:
Per BBC Sport, the 39-year-old said: "It wasn't going to plan and I just had to be patient. I nicked that frame to go 3-1—it was massive—I came in at the interval, had a chat with my manager and I went out there a bit different, a bit more determined."
In the other semi-final, Ding drew first blood with a 68, but breaks of 62 and 44 saw Murphy equalise.
The Magician then produced an outstanding long pot in the third:
It wasn't enough for him to move ahead, though, as he allowed Ding back into the frame. Murphy hauled the Chinese back a second time with an excellent showing in the fourth, with Pro Snooker Blog's Matt Huart noting he at one point looked to be heading toward a maximum break:
In the end, he was forced to settle for a 110 before the pair exchanged further frames to make it 3-3.
Murphy finally went ahead for the first time and used that momentum to win his third successive frame and take a commanding lead.
Ding continued to fight for every point and opened the ninth with a lovely pot of a red:
It wasn't enough to save him, though, and Murphy duly saw out the win.
Bingham came out on top when the two met at the Crucible in the thrilling World Championship final last year, so Murphy will be eager to avenge his defeat. Both have played some outstanding snooker to get this far, so it should be another exciting encounter on Sunday.
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