Ding Junhui’s hopes of becoming China’s first world championship finalist were dashed on Saturday by English qualifier Judd Trump who won their semifinal 17-15.

The 21-year-old, the second youngest man to reach the final, came from 15-14 behind to beat Ding, finishing off with a 105 break.

His victory sets up a Sunday and Monday final against three-time champion John Higgins who defeated Mark Williams 17-14.

Ding, who had never previously got beyond the second round at the Crucible, paid tribute to his conqueror.

“I like to watch him play,” he told the BBC. “He’s learning quick with more experience.

“I tried to put the white ball on the cushion but he just kept coming back. If he keeps potting balls like that then he can win it.”

Trump won the China Open at the start of the month, but is now just one win away from landing the sport’s greatest prize.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’ll have to go away and have a little think about it,” he said.

“Towards the end I’ve never felt nerves like it. Even though the balls were all there, it kinds of hits you really. I just took my time and knew if I didn’t miss anything silly they were all there to be taken.

“It was definitely the best match I’ve been involved in.

“We hardly missed a ball in the whole match. Ding’s safety was a little bit better than mine and in the last few frames he got in first, but he made a couple of mistakes and I punished him.”

Higgins kept his focus after being heckled by a spectator to reach the final.

The 35-year-old Scot was labelled “a disgrace to snooker” by an angry spectator, who was immediately ejected, during his last-four clash with Welshman Williams. 

The spectator interjected in the 28th frame, and was apparently referring to the story which broke on the eve of the 2010 final, when Higgins and his then manager Pat Mooney were caught up in a newspaper sting after a meeting with reporters posing at businessmen in Ukraine.

Higgins was banned for six months after admitting to breaching rules around betting, but the more serious charges of agreeing to throw frames for money were dropped.

The Scotsman has always denied wrongdoing and seemed briefly rattled by the incident but held himself together to compile a break of 123 which gave him a 15-13 lead at the mid-session interval.

Asked after the match if the spectator upset him, Higgins said: “Not at all, no. No.”