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Trump ‘disappointed’ to miss Ronnie record

Judd Trump was frustrated to come so thrillingly close to an incredible record held by Ronnie O’Sullivan – then miss out.

Trump rattled off the first 527 points without reply in beating Zhang Anda 6-2.

But a fluffed red ruined his bid to pass the all-time highest tally of unanswered points – the Rocket’s 556 against Ricky Walden in the Masters 10 years ago.

Trump notched unreturned breaks of 86, 126, 120 and 131 to go 4-0 up before missing a red to let in Zhang in the next frame.

The world no 1 said: “I’m always disappointed to miss a ball.

“One thing I pride myself on is not to miss for a long period of time.”

Trump-ton fun!

Judd Trump explained why he’d deserve a huge festive jackpot, writes ROB MAUL.

The Juddernaut bagged breaks of 126, 120, 131 and 120 i a 6-2 win over Zhng Anda.

He said: “I felt very comfortable out there. It’s up to me to play my best.

“If you can keep going out and putting out those performances, you’ll be in the mix to be considered the best player.

“I didn’t know about the world record. I was disappointed to miss that red. It would have been nice to take another record off Ronnie.

“It shows that if you can get on with the game and not think too much, then those things can happen.

“Growing up I would have never dreamt of earning £1million in a season, let alone before Christmas.

“It shows the game has come on in terms of prize money and also shows my level of consistency. The way I have played I have really earned that.”

Judd eyes £1m Xmas bonus

Century-maker Judd Trump is on course to earn a £1million Christmas bonus – after he missed out on a spot in the Guinness World Records book, writes ROB MAUL.

The world No.1 notched up FOUR centuries in a dominant 6-2 victory over Zhang Anda in the UK Championship quarter-finals.

In frames one to five, unplayable Trump, 35, sunk 527 points without reply until he missed a difficult red and then Anda responded with a red – which saw him punch the air in delight after breaking his duck.

That superb scoring blitz was 29 points off the world record of 556 points without reply set by Ronnie O’Sullivan against Ricky Walden during the 2014 Masters quarter-finals.

Should Trump reach Sunday’s final – banking a minimum of £100,000 – he will have secured more than £1million in prize money from ten tournaments this season.

Hawkins’ confidence rockets

Barry Hawkins might be the outsider – compare to the three legends making up the semi-final line-up.

But he’s still taking confidence from sinking seven-time world champ Ronnie O’Sullivan in round one.

The world No 20 notched five half-ton breaks in a 6-2 over Shaun Murphy that left his beaten opponent raving.

And Hawkins himself said: “After beating Ronnie, why should I worry about playing anybody?”

Wilson vs Trump in sizzling Saturday semi!

Last-four clashes don’t come much bigger than this.

World No 1 Judd Trump will take on reigning Crucible king Kyren Wilson tomorrow for a place in the UK Championship final.

Mark Allen meets Barry Hawkins in the second semi-final.

The bookies rate Trump a warm favourite at 8/13 to beat Wilson.

And Allen starts as fave against Hawkins – despite the latter playing as well as anyone today.

Trump the stand-out performer

Judd Trump was surely the peak performer today – with by far his best display of the tournament.

But Barry Hawkins wasn’t far behind.

Trump beat Zhang Anda and Hawkins toppled Shaun Murphy, both by a convincing 6-2 scoreline.

There perhaps wasn’t quite that brilliance tonight.

But Kyren Wilson was solid enough as he fended off a Michael Holt comeback to triumph 6-3.

And Mark Allen looked sharp in settling down to take the final five frames – for a 6-3 defeat of Jack Lisowski.

Today’s results:

Afternoon
Shaun Murphy 2-6 Barry Hawkins
Judd Trump 6-2 Zhang Anda

Evening
Mark Allen 6-3 Jack Lisowski
Kyren Wilson 6-3 Michael Holt