The quarter-finals concluded yesterday in Manchester and delivered some unexpected results to say the least. Not only did Mark Williams beat Judd Trump, he beat him heavily. This result, with Ronnie’s win the previous day, means that Ronnie will go to the Crucible ranked number one no matter what happens today, at the week-end. Ronnie has now be holding the number one sport for over two years. At 48, that’s some feat, especially as he tends to pick and choose more than most.

Here are the reports by WST on yesterday’s matches

Afternoon session (Gary Wilson’s win)

GRITTY WILSON EARNS SHOT AT ROCKET

Gary Wilson’s habit of winning matches when he is not at his best proved crucial again as he came from 8-7 down to beat Zhang Anda 10-8 in the quarter-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship.

Wilson is enjoying the best season of his career, having won ranking titles at the BetVictor Scottish Open and BetVictor Welsh Open. The Wallsend cueman is competing in this event for the first time, and having knocked out Mark Selby and now Zhang – both by a 10-8 scoreline – he is now guaranteed £40,000 as well as a top ten ranking going into the Cazoo World Championship. 

On Friday at Manchester Central he takes on world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan, a player he beat en route to winning the 2022 Scottish Open crown.

Wilson, age 38, has been uncomfortable with his technique over the years, and still contends that he is playing poorly. Yet he has found ways of winning when not at his best, and is reaping the rewards.

“I showed grit and determination and tried my best, those are the only positives I can take,” said Wilson. “Even in the tournaments I won this season, there were spells where my game was in the bin. I guess that helps me because I always make sure I show that grit. If you keep trying then you might get through a few matches, and then somehow miraculously you find something in your game. If you let your guard down and play at 99% instead of 100% and make a mistake on one shot, that can cost you a match. This is a game of very small margins. But I know I have to improve because those kind of performances are not good enough.“

Looking ahead to the clash with O’Sullivan, he added: “I’m not someone who crumbles because of who I am playing. For me, it’s all about how I am feeling and playing. If my action is gone then my confidence is on the floor and I can’t find any way of hitting it. If that happens then it doesn’t matter who I’m playing. I am trying to iron that out, it’s not really working. But I am in the semis so let’s see what happens.”

After sharing the first two frames of the concluding session, Wilson took the next two with a top break of 74 to lead 7-5, before China’s Zhang recovered to 7-7. In frame 15, Wilson led 61-9 but a missed red proved costly as Zhang made an excellent 55 clearance which included a double on the last red to a centre pocket.

Wilson hit back with breaks 94 and 85 to edge 9-8 ahead. Zhang had first chance in frame 18 but missed a red to a top corner at 34-0, and Wilson replied with 50 before running out of position. The Englishman then got the better of a safety battle on the last red, converting a thin cut to a top corner. He missed match-ball black, but Zhang played a weak safety on the yellow and that proved his last shot.

Evening session

WILLIAMS TO FACE ALLEN IN SEMIS

Mark Williams beat Judd Trump in a multi-session match for the first time in his career with a 10-4 victory in the quarter-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship in Manchester.

Trump has rivalled Ronnie O’Sullivan as player of the season so far, winning five ranking titles, but he was well below his best today and outplayed by a veteran 49-year-old opponent. It’s arguably Williams’ best result since he lifted the Cazoo British Open title in September and his first win over Trump in a knockout match since the 2018 German Masters.

The Welshman is through to the 65th ranking event semi-final of his career and on Saturday he’ll be up against Mark Allen, who came from 8-7 down to score a 10-8 victory over Ding Junhui. 

Defeat for Trump ends his hopes of becoming world number one this week, which means that O’Sullivan will top the rankings going into the Cazoo World Championship. 

Williams, chasing a 26th career ranking title, said: “It’s about time I beat Judd because I have lost a few close matches against him. To beat the player of the season so far 10-4, I can’t ask for any more than that, even though he didn’t play well. My game is as good as it could be given where I am in my career. It’s not going to get better now, I’ll just try to keep it going for as long as I can. This is a nice stepping stone ahead of the Crucible.“

Leading 5-3 after the first session, three-time World Champion Williams took the first two frames on the colours tonight to extend his cushion to 7-3. In frame 11, he led 48-30 when he missed a simple red to a centre pocket, and Trump cleared to snatch the frame. But that did not prove a turning point as Bristol’s Trump failed to take the chances which came his way.

Williams took advantage to stretch his lead to 9-4. In the 14th he missed the blue when he led 42-0, but Trump’s hopes ended when he too missed the blue on 11, allowing Williams to wrap up the tie.

Allen is enjoying an outstanding season having won the Champion of Champions, BetVictor Shoot Out and Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship. The Northern Irishman has become perhaps the toughest match-player on the tour, and again showed his tenacity in the closing stages of a tight battle with Ding. World number three Allen is into his 38th ranking event semi-final and is chasing a 12th title.

China’s Ding took the opening frame tonight with a break of 71 to lead 6-3, then 38-year-old Allen stormed back with four frames in a row, including a 142 total clearance which is the new front-runner for the £10,000 high break prize. Ding hit back with 82 and 67 to lead 8-7.

Frame 16 was crucial as Ding got the snooker he needed on the last red and looked set to clear for 9-7 until he missed a straight-forward final pink. It came down to a respotted black, and a safety error from Ding left the black over a baulk corner for Allen to convert for 8-8. Momentum behind him, Allen took the last two frames with runs of 56 and 127.

“There were one or two errors but generally I got stronger as the match went on and that’s a big positive to take into the next round,” said Allen. “The 16th frame was huge because at 8-8 I felt relaxed and my game was in the right shape. It was hard to see from my seat what angle he had on the pink, but he seemed to throw a quick one in, which can happen to anyone under pressure. 

“It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s 4-4 at 1pm or 9-9 at midnight. I feel like I am ready for anything. Last year I lost to Mark Selby in the semis at the Crucible, 17-15 in a late finish, and I genuinely felt as if I could have played all night. I had so much left in the tank. Getting a bit of gym work in before Sheffield will help me get ready. The longer the matches go on, the more I come into my own. I came here to work on a few things technically, and tonight even at 8-8 I stuck with what I have been working on. Now I am in the semis I want to go on and win it. 

“The scoreline for Mark Williams tonight was a bit of a surprise but he is one of the all-time greats. I will need to pay well and I always look forward to playing him.”

The way he’s playing at the moment, and the frame of mind he is in now makes Allen a very serious contender for the World Championship title this season. As for Ding, I have by now given up any hope for him to ever become a World Snooker Champion.

As for Judd Trump, he’s got a lot of success in the “best of 7” type events over the last 10 years, but has been less prolific in the longer formats and in the BBC majors in particular. Why? I’m not sure but that’s what the stats seem to show. I doubt that fatigue is a factor, given that he’s younger than most his rivals at the top. Some suggested that it’s because he treats every tournament the same way, whilst other players are maybe not giving the smaller events the same attention they give to the more prestigious ones. That’s possibly a factor but I doubt that it’s the main one because, surely, Trump must be been keen to add more “big titles” to his CV.