Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy will face each other in the semi-finals of the Honghe Industrial China Open.

The other last-four clash in the £250,000 tournament will see Glaswegian Stephen Maguire take on Wales' Ryan Day.

Leicester's Selby again proved a thorn in the side of John Higgins as he sent the world champion crashing out with an impressive 5-2 win.

And there was success too for former world champion Murphy as he dispensed with Irishman Mark Allen in a confident 5-3 victory at the Beijing Sports Gymnasium.

"I'm very pleased to get through to another semi and continue my consistent form," said a delighted Murphy.

"The four players left have been the best this week, and with the exception of Ronnie O'Sullivan they are probably the best four in the world at the moment.

"Mark Selby and I are good friends and we've had some good matches in the past. We're both playing well so it should be a quality game of snooker, and I think it will be quite close."

Allen had breaks of 56, 54 and 62, and led early on having won the opener.

But Murphy was in determined mood and, with breaks of 43, 53, 52, 59, 46, 82 and 64, he powered into a fifth ranking-event semi-final in a row.

Selby was in excellent form to dump out world number one Higgins - his conqueror at the World Championship final in May last year.

Higgins had breaks of 55 and 127, but Selby stayed on course for back-to-back ranking titles with runs of 74, 50, 67, 76 and 106, triumphing in just 90 minutes.

"I was very consistent - that's probably the first time this week that I've played well throughout the match," said Selby, winner of the Welsh Open and Masters' crowns this season.

"My safety game was solid and I hardly played a bad shot. You have to play like that to beat John.

"I give everyone the same respect and prepare for each match the same way, but I always seem to play well against John.

"This win gives me great confidence - if I can keep playing like this, hopefully I can go on to win the title."

Higgins admitted: "Mark played well, but I gave him too many chances. My tactical play was very bad. I was giving chances away too cheaply, that was the disappointing thing for me.

"Mark played the way he's been playing all season, and if you're not very sharp he will beat you. He's got that much confidence at the moment, when he goes to the table he doesn't think he's going to miss.

"When I get back I'll have a couple of days with my family, then I'll be in the club for two weeks before Sheffield (for the World Championship). I've got lots and lots of practice to do."

The eventual tournament champion will walk away with a cheque for £50,000, while the runner-up stands to pocket £22,500.

Having reached the semi-finals, every player is guaranteed to take home £12,000 for their efforts in the far east.

The current high-break prize is still held by Dubliner Ken Doherty.

He pocketed a 140 break earlier in the week and, if it is not bettered in the three remaining matches, the Irishman would earn an additional £2,000 on top of the £2,750 he received for reaching the last-16 stage.

Sporting Life / Eurosport