Four-time former Northern Ireland Open champion Judd Trump proved too strong for John Higgins as he secured an impressive 5–2 victory over the veteran Scot. The match was finely balanced at 2–2 heading into the mid-session interval, with Higgins doing well to disrupt Trump’s rhythm and slow the pace of play.
However, once they returned to the table, Trump shifted gears. He burst out of the blocks with back-to-back breaks of 72, before sealing the match in style with a superb 121 century to book his place in the semi-finals, his sixth in nine years.
Match Summary
Frames 1-4
The match began at a decent tempo, with neither player showing any interest in easing into prolonged safety exchanges. Higgins controlled most of the early exchanges, keeping Trump cold and eventually piecing together a composed break of 61 to take the opening frame.
Trump responded immediately, capitalising on his first real scoring opportunity in the second frame with a fluent break of 93. He looked faintly irritated to have missed the final black for what would have been his second century of the tournament, but the job was done, and the match was level.
Trump, keen to maintain the initiative, pounced on a foul from the Scot to compile a fluent break of 82. His pace around the table and clinical precision were starting to look like ominous signs for Higgins.
The final frame of the session was a scrappy affair, which suited Higgins after the two quick frames that had slipped from his grasp. On the brink of levelling, he missed a red to the left middle, but Trump could not capitalise. Higgins steadied himself, and the players went into the mid-session interval all square at 2–2.
Frames 5-7
Trump emerged sharper after the interval and, following a Higgins miss, he quickly pieced together a break of 72 to move 3–2 in front.
The Englishman carried that momentum straight into the sixth frame, producing another composed 72 to move to within one frame of a place in the semi-finals.
At that stage, it felt as though there was only going to be one winner. Having threatened to notch a century several times throughout the match, Trump finally delivered in style, compiling a majestic 121 to close out the contest and book his place in the semi-finals.
Post-Match interview with Judd Trump
“I was happy with how I played through the whole game, I don’t think I did too much wrong. The couple of frames John won were a little bit scrappy but in my frames I played well and scored heavy,” said Trump.
“I had chances to make centuries in nearly every frame I won, so I could have had five. You know when you’re giving yourself those opportunities you’re playing well but it’s always nice to turn it on for the crowd.”
“For anyone that walks into the Waterfront Arena, I think you can see why it’s such a great venue for snooker. Quite a few venues we play at are not at that level so I cherish to be able to play in that kind of environment. The crowd here are some of the best in the world in terms of support and how much they love snooker.”
His final words were on the unique occasion of two Northern Irish players, Mark Allen and Jordan Brown, facing off for a place in the semi-finals later on Friday.
“I’m happy that Jordan Brown has had a good week, he needed it after dropping down the rankings. You can see how much it means to both the players and it’s great that two local lads are playing in the quarter-finals here.”
“It’s great for snooker and I’m sure whoever wins, and plays me tomorrow night, there’ll be few rowdy people come 7pm. I’d probably have preferred to play day time so fans couldn’t drink as much but it will be fantastic environment.”
