Judd Trump and Neil Robertson scored respective quarter-final triumphs to set up a blockbuster meeting in the last four of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship in York.
World number one Trump rallied from an early deficit to defeat Chinese icon Ding Junhui 6-2 and secure his passage.
The Ace in the Pack is the defending champion this week, having picked up a second UK crown 12 months ago with a 10-8 defeat of Barry Hawkins in the title match.
However, it’s not been smooth sailing for Trump since then, as he hasn’t added to his trophy collection. If the 36-year-old doesn’t win the title on Sunday it will make 2025 his first trophyless calendar year since 2013.
It was three-time UK Champion Ding who got off to an imposing start today. He hammered home breaks of 89 and 83 to move into the ascendancy at 2-0.
That momentum was to be short lived, as 30-time ranking event winner Trump took a stranglehold on proceedings. The Englishman crafted runs of 73, 91 and 50 on his way to six consecutive frames and a 6-2 triumph.
The win sets up Trump’s meeting with Robertson, who he memorably met in a nerve shredding 2020 final, which was behind closed doors in Milton Keynes due to the pandemic. The match came down to the final pink, with Robertson inflicting a heart breaking 10-9 defeat on Trump. He avenged that loss in the opening round last year.
“It was a tough game. He started off really well. He’s got good memories from this event. He’s won it three times,” said two-time UK Champion Trump. “The game changed after I got on the board and he started missing a few.
“This is a great tournament. It is one of the best on the calendar. The crowds are fantastic and it is a really nice venue to play in. Myself and Neil have some good memories in the event and it is going to be a good game.
“That final with Neil was a long game. I was relieved it was over in the end. It was different now . We are back here in York with a full crowd and it is going to be great.”
On the other table, 2013, 2015 and 2020 UK Champion Neil Robertson saw off a spirited fightback from China’s Pang Junxu to prevail 6-4.
Robertson was in total control at 5-1 and had left Pang needing three snookers. However, he calamitously hit the black attempting an escape and left a free ball in the process. Pang cleared with 51 to steal on the black.
Further runs of 115 and 46 helped Pang to crank up the heat further and make it 5-4. However, a break of 75 saw Robertson stop the rot and get over the line at 6-4.
Robertson said: “I was brilliant up to 5-1 and it is just one of those crazy things. He did a good clearance under pressure and he made another century. I made a good match winning break at the end. He put a lot of pressure on me and I responded well.
“The world was going through a tough time in the 2020 final. We were just grateful to play. It was so intense because there wasn’t a crowd. There was an eerie silence and someone just pressing a button for the applause. When I potted the winning pink Judd just nodded a me and said well done. It was a crazy time. We are two of the cleanest potters in the world. I think that has shown in the tournament so far.”
Mark Selby overcame close friend Barry Hawkins 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Victorian Plumbing UK Championship and set up a showdown with Shaun Murphy.
Victory sends the Jester from Leicester through to the UK semi-finals for the first time since he last won the title here in York back in 2016. Selby’s progression comes at the expense of last year’s runner-up Hawkins, who he shared a flat with at the event 12 months ago.
Tomorrow night’s clash with Murphy will see Selby take on a player who he has been battling against since the junior ranks. The pair have shared almost every significant stage in the sport, including the 2021 world final and the 2012 UK final, both won by Selby.
Selby made breaks of 64 and 115 in the opening four frames this evening and found himself 3-1 ahead at the mid-session interval.
Play got back underway with a marathon 48-minute fifth frame which crucially went the way of Selby on the pink, before he also claimed the sixth to go one from the finish line at 5-1.
Hawkins pulled a frame back with a superb 138, but Selby fired in 83 in the eighth to book his last four slot.
42-year-old Selby said: “I’m delighted to win but it is never nice to play Barry. He is my best mate on the tour. I spend a lot of time with him at tournaments, even this morning we had a cup of tea at the cafe with him and his wife. I have so much respect for him. He’s a great lad.
“Shaun and I more or less grew up together. I remember playing him in the junior comps and it is great we have both come through the ranks together and achieved what we have. Here we are battling it out in a Triple Crown semi-final. It is good.
“I’m going to enjoy it tomorrow. Hopefully I can play well. If I do I’ll have a chance, but these Triple Crown events only come around once a year. To still be involved in the back end of the tournament is always pleasing.
Murphy earned his progression with a 6-3 win over Zhang Anda, who yesterday conquered World Champion Zhao Xintong.
The Magician himself has also endured a semi-final hiatus in York, having not appeared in the last four since being runner-up in 2017. Wins over Lyu Haotian, John Higgins and now Zhang have seen him put that right this week.
43-year-old Murphy is gunning for a first UK Championship crown since his maiden win in 2008, when he beat Marco Fu in the final.
He made breaks of 88, 73 and 73 in this evening’s win over Zhang, but knows he will have to up his game to progress to the final.
Murphy said: “I’m delighted to win and that was about it. We both played under par. I made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes on and off the table. I dropped the rest and it nearly clattered into the balls and I miscued, I can’t remember the last time I did that. There were a number of totally basic misses, but that shows we are all human. It was a bad day at the office, but I got the win and I have a chance to put it right tomorrow.
“Mark and I have been beating each other since we were nine years of age. We have become good mates away from the table, but we have had a number of good matches. He has inflicted some pain on me and I’ve managed to get him back in a number of big games as well.”
We have two fantastic semi-finals matches to enjoy today. The line-up is of outstanding quality: all four players remaining in the draw have been World Champions. It isn’t easy to predict the outcome of such high quality matches, but if I must make a prediction, I’ll say that we will have a Judd Trump v Mark Selby final which would be fantastic, but really any other combination would yield a very high quality final as well.
The Ding v Trump match followed an only too familiar scenario. Ding started brilliantly but as soon as he lost a frame he appeared to fade away a bit. I’m not trying to diminish Judd’s merit here, it’s just that I have seen that “fading Ding” scenario so many times against a lot of different opponents. It’s a great shame because Ding is a fantastic player. I have said this before, but I’ll say it again, Ding needs to meet the Chinese “Steve Peters” if such a man exists. The kind of work Peters did with Ronnie can only work if both the therapist and the person seeking help can express themselves with precision, express their feelings with the correct nuances, and that can only be done if they both use their native language. On the other table, Pang showed great fighting spirit, it was in vain eventually but it was great to watch.
I won’t make any firm prediction about the Trump v Robertson match, but I would be surprised if Murphy beats Selby. IMO Mark’s game is more complete, more versatile than Shaun’s and Mark’s patience is infinite when needed.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 