Hereafter are the two reports by WST on the quarter-finals at the Tempodrom in Berlin.
TRUMP OVERPOWERS HIGGINS
Judd Trump put on a clinical display to beat old rival John Higgins 5-2 and make the semi-finals of the BetVictor German Masters in Berlin.
Victory sees Bristolian Trump defeat Higgins for the third time in a row, extending his head-to-head advantage over the Scot to 17-14.
Trump dished out two heartbreaking defeats to Higgins in their previous two meetings this season. He rallied from 3-0 down to win 6-5 at the BetVictor European Masters and came from 5-2 behind to beat Higgins 6-5 at the BetVictor English Open.
The pair have clashed on the sport’s grandest stages on a number of occasions. Higgins defeated Trump in the 2011 World Championship final and roles were reversed in the 2019 Crucible title match. However, today’s match was the pair’s first ever meeting at Berlin’s iconic Tempodrom.
Coming into the match, 2020 and 2022 German Masters winner Trump had the knowledge that he had already secured the bumper £150,000 payout for topping the BetVictor Series standings. He’s already lifted silverware at the English Open and the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open.
It was Trump who got out of the traps first this afternoon, making 71 to take the opener. However, breaks of 83 and 53 from Higgins helped him to establish a 2-1 advantage. Trump hit back with 78 in the fourth and ensured they went in for the mid-session level at 2-2.
Higgins led 53-0 in the fifth, but a brilliant clearance of 68 helped Trump to steal and take the lead. The next saw Higgins miss a straightforward red to the top left and Trump ruthlessly punished to move 4-2 ahead and one from victory. He wasted little time getting over the line, securing a 5-2 win and a semi-final with either Ali Carter or Sam Craigie.
“For the first five or ten years, he was always just getting over the line. Now I am able to do the same. Just at the important times, to pot the crucial balls. Today John missed an easy ball to go 3-3 and that was the difference.”
Judd Trump
26-time Ranking Event Winner
Trump added: “For me, he is still a good benchmark. We are meeting now where his level has probably just dropped slightly and mine has risen. Every time I play him I can still see he is up for it. I know it is going to be a fight. Along with Ronnie he is the benchmark. If I can beat that type of player I know I’m doing well.
“The venue comes into its own when you get down to that semi-final. This isn’t the biggest prize money tournament, but the atmosphere is probably second to none. It is right up there with the Masters in London and one I always want to get back to.”
Chinese 21-year-old Si Jiahui thrashed Welshman Ryan Day 5-1 to make just the second ranking semi-final of his fledgling career.
Si stunned the world back in May, reaching his maiden semi-final at the Crucible. His dominated his last four clash with Luca Brecel at the World Championship, but eventually succumbed to a 17-15 defeat.
Today saw Si put on a clinical display, firing in runs of 52, 96, 72, 75 and 73 to blitz to the impressive victory. He now faces either Kyren Wilson or Fan Zhengyi in the last four.
CRAIGIE MAKES MAIDEN SEMI-FINAL
Sam Craigie will appear in the semi-final of a ranking event for the first time in his career, after scoring a landmark 5-1 win over defending champion Ali Carter at the BetVictor German Masters in Berlin.
The 30-year-old from Wallsend first became professional back in 2011, but bowed out in his two previous quarter-final appearances at the 2019 China Open and the 2022 UK Championship. Tomorrow he will step out in the single table setup at the iconic Tempodrom to take on Judd Trump.
In recent months Craigie has started working with coach Chris Henry and Rapid Transformational Therapist Ross Turner and has credited them with a turnaround in his mentality, which has led to achieving this evening’s momentous victory.
Carter’s title defence ends two wins short of a second straight trip to the final. Last year he lifted the Brandon Parker Trophy after a magnificent 10-3 defeat of Tom Ford in the title match. He has enjoyed a tremendous 12 months since then, reaching further finals at the Players Championship, Wuhan Open and the Masters.
Craigie blitzed to a 4-0 advantage this evening, hammering home breaks of 71, 65, 50 and 103 to get there. Carter crafted a typically gutsy 90 in the fifth to stay in contention. However, his resistance was to be short lived.
The sixth frame saw Craigie deposit the first ten reds with blacks as he chased a maximum break to win in style. However, he was unlucky to then pot two reds at once and deny himself the 147 chance. In the end his run finished on 89 as he secured the 5-1 victory.
“I stayed in the zone, just focussing on me. That is about it, trying to blank everything out and focus on my game. People have said it for years and years since I was young, that I have all the talent in the world. I just didn’t believe it. Every tournament I changed my cue action. In the last two months I haven’t changed my cue action. I’ve been able to enjoy playing.”
Sam Craigie
World Number 50
On the other table, 2019 German Masters winner Kyren Wilson reached his first semi-final of the season by demolishing Fan Zhengyi 5-0.
Wilson captured the title here at the Tempodrom five years ago when he scored a thrilling 9-7 win over David Gilbert. The Warrior enjoys competing in Germany, having claimed three of his five ranking event wins in the country.
This evening’s encounter saw Wilson make breaks of 125, 69, 51 and 55 on his way to victory. Next up he faces World Championship semi-finalist Si Jiahui in the last four.
I can’t really comment on the afternoon matches. I was marking the scores for snooker.org and there were three events underway simultaneously… I ended up up watching nothing properly … except live scores . In the evening, Kyren played extremely well and Fan was really poor. Fan started the match with a brilliant pot but that’s as good as it went for the lad who looked very downbeat and frustrated towards the end.
I’m looking forward to the Wilson v Si clash today. History is firmly in favour of Kyren: he’s won all their previous encounters bar one … Si’s only victory at the Shootout. Si though is a different animal now. If both play as well as they did in the tournament so far, it should be a treat!
Having not seen Sam Craigie in action in recent time, I have no idea how, or even if, he can give Judd Trump problems. I just hope we get to see a match, not an execution…
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Ronnie O'Sullivan 