Judd Trump survives huge scare to down Chris Wakelin and set up enticing Si Jiahui semi-final in Wuhan
Published 10/10/2024 at 17:13 GMT+1
Judd Trump and Chris Wakelin produced a thrilling quarter-final battle in the evening session at the Wuhan Open, with the former world champion squeezing past his compatriot in a final-frame decider. The match remained in the balance with only the colours left in the final frame, but a costly miss from Wakelin on the brown allowed Trump to capitalise and avoid a huge upset.
Insane end to final frame as Trump edges Wakelin in Wuhan quarter-final thriller
Video credit: TNT Sports
Judd Trump advanced to the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open after edging a final-frame thriller with Chris Wakelin.
Trump will go on to meet Si Jiahui in the last four after coming through one of his toughest matches of the season so far.
Going into the encounter, Wakelin could have been forgiven for not having the fondest of memories from facing Trump, having lost in all 13 of their previous meetings.
The 32-year-old was aiming to change that narrative against the world No. 1, and began here with a blistering start.
A series of red-and-pink combinations helped him work towards a sizeable break of 97, with Trump left to rue a simple red in the early exchanges with the rest.
Wakelin would move towards doubling his advantage after laying a series of successful snooker traps for Trump.
However, it looked like the momentum had swung in Trump's favour when he landed a brilliant blue before inexplicably missing the green.
Wakelin accepted the gift to pot said green, followed by the brown to seal a cagier second frame.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
The third was arguably even more attritional, but crucially went in Trump's favour to stop Wakelin from extending his lead.
After fortuitously potting the yellow, Trump capitalised on a missed green error from Wakelin to land everything except the black, and halve the deficit.
Trump would fail to kick on from there though, with his safety game leaving a lot to be desired.
After failing to pot a long red, Wakelin entered the fray to land everything up to the black and re-establish his two-frame lead.
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Trump responded by securing his highest break of the match up to this point, surpassing a half century at 54.
He quickly advanced to the 'snookers required' stage, and despite being thwarted by an awkward red on the right cushion, he managed to reduce the deficit back to one.
Momentum looked to be swinging in Trump's favour when a poor safety shot from Wakelin opened the door for the world No. 1 to take the two reds required to seal the frame en route to another half-century clearance, this time at 58, levelling the score.
But Wakelin would move to within one frame of victory by capitalising on a missed red from Trump to work his way towards a modest - albeit decisive - break of 22.
A final frame decider beckoned though after Trump raced into a lead of 67, with Wakelin left needing three snookers.
Trump in turn left Wakelin with a snooker of his own on the black, and despite making contact, he left a pot on and decided to concede.
After storming out to a 51-0 lead in the deciding frame, Trump missed a long-range red which provided a lifeline to his opponent. Wakelin made an error at 51-36 as his cue ball collided with the green after potting the blue. He was forced to attempt to snooker Trump.
Wakelin was left with a thin shot on the red after Trump's defensive shot, but failed to convert, leaving the table open for his opponent to escape an upset loss.
Trump, again, did not make it easy for himself as he sent the cue ball too far down the table and missed the opportunity on the black. Back at the table, Wakelin produced a stunning pot of the final red, hitting the white off two cushions before converting into the top pocket.
It set up a thrilling finale, with Wakelin needing to pot the remaining colors, but a miss on the brown allowed Trump back to the table to complete the 5-4 win.
Potting the brown, blue and pink, Trump clenched his fist in celebration as he reached the semi-finals, where he will face China's Si.
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