Shaun Murphy dashed Zhao Xintong's hopes of lifting the Crucible curse with a superb 13-10 win as he moved into the last four of the World Championship.

Zhao, 29, had been aiming to become the only first-time winner to defend his crown since the tournament moved to the Crucible Theatre in 1977.

However, he simply had no answer as the 43-year-old Englishman knocked in a barrage of pots to reach the last four for the sixth time.

He will now face four-time champion John Higgins, who delivered a vintage display to defeat Australia's Neil Robertson 13-10.

Higgins, who turns 51 on 18 May, becomes the oldest semi-finalist since Ray Reardon, who reached the same stage aged 52 in 1985.

His meeting with Murphy, which begins at 13:00 BST on Thursday, will be a repeat of the 2009 final, which the Scot won 18-9.

Since then, Murphy has twice gone on to reach the showpiece match and has openly admitted that it has been his personal mission to replicate his success from 2005, when he claimed his one and only world…