---
title: "Wilson sweeps past Zhao to book Murphy semi-final at Champion of Champions"
url: https://sportshorts.net/story/wilson-sweeps-past-zhao-to-book-murphy-semi-at-champion-of-champions
published: 2026-11-12T21:26:55Z
updated: 2026-11-12T21:26:55Z
summary: "Kyren Wilson beat Zhao Xintong 6-1 to win the last group at the Champion of Champions in Leicester and will face Shaun Murphy in Saturday's semi-final."
author: "SportShorts Desk"
categories: ["Snooker"]
tags: ["Champion of Champions", "Kyren Wilson", "Shaun Murphy", "Snooker", "Zhao Xintong"]
lang: en
---

# Wilson sweeps past Zhao to book Murphy semi-final at Champion of Champions

*The International Championship winner reeled off five straight frames with three centuries to beat world No. 1 Zhao Xintong 6-1 and complete the last-four line-up in Leicester.*

LEICESTER — Kyren Wilson carried his International Championship form straight into the Mattioli Arena on Thursday night, compiling three centuries in a 6-1 rout of world No. 1 Zhao Xintong to take the final semi-final place at the Champion of Champions.

Wilson, who lifted the Nanjing trophy only last Saturday, was untouchable through the first five frames of the evening's Group Two final — breaks of 75, 100, 123, 86 and 104 held Zhao scoreless in three of them. The world champion avoided a whitewash with a 78 in frame six, but Wilson closed it out 90-0 in the next.

The evening win followed an eventful afternoon for both men. Wilson had earlier seen off Ali Carter 4-2, while Zhao — back in the country only days after his International Championship quarter-final run in Nanjing — whitewashed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-0.

Wilson now meets Shaun Murphy in Saturday's second semi-final — a collision of the week's two form horses, with Murphy yet to drop a frame in Leicester after whitewashing both Ronnie O'Sullivan and Chang Bingyu on Wednesday. Chris Wakelin and Neil Robertson contest the first semi-final on Friday night, with the final over two sessions on Sunday.

Why it matters: Saturday's semi-final pits the only two unbeaten records left in the draw against each other — Murphy has won all ten frames he has played this week, while Wilson arrives on a streak that has now brought him the Northern Ireland Open and International Championship titles inside a month.

*Sources: results and frame scores per the [CueTracker bracket](https://cuetracker.net/tournaments/champion-of-champions/2026/8557), independently confirmed by [Totally Snookered's draw and results page](https://www.totallysnookered.com/sport/snooker/tournaments/champion-of-champions/2026-champion-of-champions-snooker-draw-results-schedule-prize-money-how-to-watch-9336426); International Championship context via [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/snooker). See our [day-three wrap](https://sportshorts.net/story/murphy-whitewashes-chang-to-win-group-three-at-champion-of-champions).*