Judd Trump Advances in UK Championship After Decisive Win Over John Higgins

World number one Judd Trump advanced to the quarter-finals of the UK Championship by overcoming three-time champion John Higgins with a 6-5 victory in a match decided by the final frame. Trump is aiming for his first UK title since 2011. The match began with a competitive and tactical phase, resulting in a 2-2 tie at the mid-session interval. Following this, the play at York Barbican gained momentum and became more fluid. Trump established a 5-4 lead, highlighted by a remarkable break of 111 and two additional half-centuries. However, Higgins, who had breaks of 58 and 106, responded with a composed 66 under pressure to force an eleventh frame. Nevertheless, a poorly executed safety shot by the Scottish player was severely exploited by Trump, who secured his win with an impressive century break. “It is nice to do it when it really matters like in the last frame, it was a great break,” Trump told BBC Sport. “When the real pressure is on is probably when I produce my best stuff. The game was too slow and I wanted to speed it up and start taking more balls on. It is a big tournament and sometimes you try too hard at the start.” Trump’s next opponent will be China’s Zhang Anda on Friday afternoon. Zhang, aged 32, secured his place by staging a significant comeback from a 5-1 deficit to defeat Stuart Bingham 6-5. World champion Kyren Wilson continued his strong performance in the tournament, progressing past Chris Wakelin with a 6-2 score. He is now set to compete against the 98th-ranked Michael Holt. Holt, who was removed from the professional tour in 2022, reached the last 16 for the first time since 1999, achieving this by recovering from a 5-2 disadvantage to overcome Jak Jones 6-5. Concurrently, Wilson built breaks of 85 and 108 en route to a 2-1 lead, also effectively exploiting Wakelin’s inability to convert several promising chances. Wakelin, ranked 15th globally, conceded the fourth frame after an unexpected miss on the final black ball and seemed to lack confidence for much of Thursday evening. Although Wakelin managed to win a disjointed sixth frame, he was penalized for missing a red to the middle pocket while leading 52-0 in the subsequent frame. Wilson, who has already secured victories at the Xi’an Grand Prix and the Northern Ireland Open this season, then comfortably concluded the match. Bingham demonstrated his strong intentions in the initial frame with an excellent break of 101, quickly establishing a 3-1 advantage by the mid-session interval. Bingham, for whom a UK title win would complete the Triple Crown, extended his lead to 4-1 with a break of 105. His attempt at a maximum 147 break ended after potting 14 reds and 13 blacks. Nevertheless, after Bingham also lost the subsequent frame, Zhang recovered, achieving breaks of 81, 70, and 108 to compel a deciding frame, ultimately completing a notable reversal in a high-tension finish. While Bingham expressed minimal dissatisfaction regarding his loss to Zhang and the postponement of his Triple Crown aspirations for another year, he voiced clear discontent with the events surrounding his unsuccessful 147 attempt. “One of the photographers came in as the white was coming down the table,” he said.”I saw him run out of the door, hide behind the stairs. I’m like, ‘Why are you coming out now?’ Now, thinking that I have just taken my eye off the black. Simple as that.” This season, Trump has already achieved victories in two tournaments and reached the final in two others. Significantly, he has demonstrated his ability to perform under pressure, having won all six of his matches this term that were decided in the final frame. Nevertheless, during his post-match news conference, he indicated that he was not fully satisfied with his current form and should not be regarded as the clear favorite in his pursuit of a second UK title. “I am probably the eighth favourite I think,” said Trump. “I have not really played well and there are other players who have found their form.” “In a tournament like this when you get into the quarters you are that much closer to winning it, but I really need to up my form and get on the practice table, put in some work and find myself again.”