Judd Trump came from 3-1 down to beat Ding Junhui 6-3 and reach the semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters, a result which means he has set a new record for prize money in a single season, with four months of the 2024/25 campaign still to come.
Clearly the man to beat at the biggest tournaments, world number one Trump has already won the Shanghai Masters, Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and Victorian Plumbing UK Championship this season, and by reaching the last four at Alexandra Palace he is guaranteed £75,000 which brings his total to £1,295,200. That surpasses the previous record of £1,265,500, set last season by Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Motivated by glory rather than money, Trump’s focus is firmly on winning the title this week in London and then his attention may turn to the World Championship as he continues his quest to become the first player to win all four majors in a single season. That would bring his prize money tally for the campaign past the £2 million mark.
Having played the best snooker of the tournament so far in the last five frames today, he will relish his next match against Kyren Wilson or Luca Brecel on Saturday night. The 35-year-old is two wins away from a third Masters crown having lifted the trophy in 2019 and 2023; only O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry have won more.
China’s Ding, the 2011 champion, started strongly with breaks of 70 and 74 to lead 2-0. Trump hit back with a run of 75 in the third and he was on 48 in frame four when he missed an awkward red to a top corner, Ding capitalising with a 72 clearance for 3-1.
After the interval the high scoring continued as Trump’s 97 reduced his deficit. In the sixth, Ding had a golden scoring chance but on 35 he missed a short range red, playing with the rest. Trump made 53 and later trapped his opponent in a snooker on the last red, then potted it along the top cushion to square the match at 3-3. That proved the turning point as the Englishman raced through the last three frames with 125, 62 and 75 to reach the last four for the seventh time.
“Ding didn’t do much wrong apart from the red he missed in the sixth frame, after that I played really well,” said 2019 World Champion Trump. “I always believe I’m going to win, even if I’m 5-1 down. You need that kind of confidence to win these tournaments. The standard this week so far has been exceptional, there have been some spectacular performances. It’s pleasing for snooker that the players can put on a show like this, it’s in safe hands.
“I’m on track for my best season although I won six events in a season (in 2019/20) which was special. The magnitude of the tournaments I have won this time makes it more special, and also the standard I have been able to produce.“
Ding said: “I started well but missed some shots and Judd got more confidence. After that he made a lot of big breaks. The red in the sixth frame was careless, I was thinking about position and missed the pot. It’s going to happen sometimes. Judd always takes his chances.“
Kyren Wilson overcame an ankle injury to beat Luca Brecel 6-4 in a thrilling finish, reaching the semi-finals of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters and keeping alive his dream of lifting the Paul Hunter Trophy for the first time.
The World Champion will take on world number one Judd Trump in a showpiece semi-final on Saturday night at Alexandra Palace. This will be their fourth meeting of the season – Wilson winning the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, then Trump took revenge in the semi-finals of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship. They also met in the last four of the Masters in 2018, Wilson coming from 5-2 down to win 6-5.
On that occasion the Kettering cueman lost to Mark Allen in the final, and he will be determined to go one step further this time and complete the second leg of the Triple Crown.
Wilson slept awkwardly on Wednesday night and woke up with pain in his ankle which left him struggling to walk. The injury has since improved and he was given permission to wear trainers during tonight’s match, though the pain hindered his performance.
“I rate that as one of the best wins of my career,” said the world number two. “Not because of my performance, but because of what I had to deal with. I couldn’t put weight on the ankle or stand how I usually would, which was frustrating. But I saw it as a challenge and something I had never had to deal with before, and it was a test for me to see how I could handle it. I would play here on one leg so there was no danger of me pulling out.”
Wilson’s breaks of 71 and 67 put him 2-0 up, then Brecel took the third with a run of 96 and had first chance in the fourth but missed a tricky black on 15 and had to watch his opponent make 64 to lead 3-1 at the interval. Back came Brecel with an 84 in frame five, before Wilson’s 78 made it 4-2. The Englishman led 25-4 in frame seven when he failed to pot a red with the rest, handing Belgium’s Brecel the opportunity to make 83 to halve the gap.
A cracking long red set Wilson up for a break of 55 in frame eight to lead 5-3. He glimpsed the winning line in the ninth but missed a tough pink, trying to screw back for the yellow when he led 44-41, and Brecel kept his hopes alive by clearing the colours. Both players passed up chances in the tenth, which lasted 42 minutes and came down to a tense battle on the final pink. Brecel eventually misjudged a safety, and Wilson drilled the mid-range pink into a top corner.
“I really enjoyed the game, though it was nervy towards the end,” Wilson added. “I was so pleased to see the pink drop. I’m really looking forward to playing Judd, we will both be up for it and hopefully bring the best out of each other. It’s an awesome feeling to be a part of the rivalry with him because he has been by far the best player in the world over the last few years. He inspires me to work hard to become a better player myself.“
What can I say? As so often, Ding lost despite being the strongest player at the start of the match, and going into the MSI with a lead. One of the pundits – it was Alan Mc Manus if I remember correctly – predicted that if Judd went on to win the first frame after the MSI, he would win the match. We have seen this pattern with Ding far too many times for me wanting it to remember it. Ding is a marvellous player to watch when he plays well but, too often he allows a small setback to derail him, and, of course, Judd Trump WILL take advantage if offered a chance. He’s very strong mentally and his will to win is phenomenal.
As for the evening match, I will only say this: Luca is a phenomenal talent who, as a player, doesn’t to justice to the gift he’s been blessed with. I don’t like to watch him. I like to watch his game, but I don’t like to watch his matches as I find him infuriatingly careless or presumptuous more often than not.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 