A fine week for Cork's Aaron Hill at the German Masters in Berlin was ended in emphatic fashion by Xiao Guodong, with the Chinese player racing to a 5-0 victory to set up a semi-final showdown against world champion Kyren Wilson.
Hill dispatched Mark Williams, Jimmy Robertson and Tom Ford in the earlier rounds at the Tempodrom to reach the second ranking quarter-final of his burgeoning career, but the 22-year-old couldn't live with an opponent in devastating form at the penultimate stage of the tournament.
Xiao turned professional in 2007, but consistency and a ranking title proved elusive until this season.
The Chongqing cueman landed the Wuhan Open in October and has now reached four semi-finals in the current campaign after breaks of 75, 95, 113 and 114 saw him advance with ease.
Wilson's quarter-final was a far closer affair, with the 33-year-old edging out Anthony McGill 5-4 in another high-quality contest which featured nine breaks over 50.
Barry Hawkins fought off Chinese challenger Yize Wu to claim his own place in the final four with a 5-3 victory.
Hawkins was trailing 2-1 before taking three straight frames, and while his opponent fought back to claim one more, Hawkins was able to wrap up the contest in the eighth.
He will face Yuan Sijun, who fended off a late fightback from Neil Robertson to claim a 5-4 victory.
The Australian clawed his way back from a 3-1 deficit en route to forcing a deciding frame, but Yuan sealed his spot with a long red.
