Martin Gould’s fabulous run at the World Grand Prix came to an agonising end at the semi-final stage with a 6-5 defeat against world number seven Judd Trump.
Gould raced in to a 5-1 lead, replicating the quality which saw him so impress in reaching the last four.
But Trump, normally renowned for his flair and attacking style, battled back with some gritty matchplay to take the next five frames.
World number 24 Gould opened up a 2-0 lead in north Wales with breaks of 50 and 87 and, although Trump, 25, responded with a stunning century, the Pinner Potter then took control.
Gould won a scrappy fourth frame and followed that up with another half century to lead 4-1.
A break of 111 took him within one frame of a memorable victory but Trump hit back with some cunning safety and three breaks of 50-plus, to earn a place in Sunday’s final.
Trump said: “Martin didn’t really miss that many balls towards the end. It was just my safety was very good and I didn’t give him that many chances.
“He didn’t bottle it, he just ran out of momentum and I got better in the second half of the match.”
The new World Grand Prix is not a ranking event but has a prize fund of £300,000 with £100,000 for the winner, £35,000 for the runner-up and £20,000 for losing semi-finalists.
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