Stuart Bingham believes he is playing snooker at an even higher level than performances that saw him win the English Open.

The Basildon cueman breezed through to the Welsh Open semi-finals in Cardiff with an another assured display, beating Zhao Xintong 5-2 to move one step closer to the title.

It means Bingham is still in with a chance of winning the tournament for a second time, an honour which would see him claim a second Home Nations title of the season.

So far, so good, therefore, for the former world champion – with his form on the baize rewarding him so far across the week.

“I played faultless snooker in the first frames, I didn’t do too much wrong early on – and from there everything was just good,” he said.

“My concentration, my flow around the table was all good, every time I got in my timing was great.

“But I saw the winning line, missed a black that didn’t reach the pocket and that made me uneasy, I missed a couple of other chances but I was just about to get over the line.

“I feel my game is just as good if not better than it was at the English Open, it will be good to get my hands on the Ray Reardon trophy, but you’ve got to take it one game at a time and not get carried away.

“This is sport, one day it can be good and the next it can be bad, that’s what’s happened in tournaments recently but so far this week it’s been good.”

Watch the Welsh Open LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player, with analysis from Jimmy White and Neal Foulds