Judd Trump made it third time lucky in the Championship League as he won Group 3 in Crondon Park on Tuesday.
The Englishman had lost in the finals of both of the opening two groups, to Ricky Walden and Joe Perry respectively, but will now join the pair in the Winner’s Group following a 3-0 victory over Ryan Day in the final yesterday.
The Englishman actually only narrowly finished inside the top four who advanced to the semi-finals, having secured three victories from his six encounters during the round-robin stage.
Countryman Shaun Murphy had been the star performer with five wins and just one defeat, at the hands of world no.1 Neil Robertson, who also made the last four along with Welshman Day.
Trump overcame Murphy 3-0 and Day pipped Robbo 3-2 before the former world no.1 easily progressed to the Finals in March, conceding a paltry 14 points in the final.
Having played in each of the opening three groups, and with £100 on offer for each frame won as well as bonuses in the play-offs section, Trump has already pocketed a tidy sum from what is basically a series of glorified practice sessions.
There’s potentially a lot more to come in the Winner’s Group while the overall champion, of course, will be invited to the very lucrative Champion of Champions event next season.
Day, Murphy and Robertson move on to Group 4, which takes place today and tomorrow, and are joined by Matthew Stevens, who just managed to sneak 5th place on Tuesday.
Graeme Dott and Mark Davis were eliminated and, along with Trump, will be replaced by Mark Selby, Stephen Maguire and Tom Ford.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Robertson was up to his old tricks once again and was docked a frame for arriving late for his clash with Dott – although he did go on to win that match 3-2.
The action during Group 4 can be followed here.
