Judd Trump’s recent run of good form continued on Wednesday as he comfortably reached the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions in Coventry.
The Englishman captured his 13th ranking event title on Sunday with success in the World Open in China.
Jet lag wasn’t a problem as Trump safely negotiated his opening two hurdles at the Ricoh Arena to make it to the last four.
A century break and additional runs of 76 and 68 saw the world number one ease past Stephen Maguire with a whitewash win over the Scot.
Trump faced Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the quarter-finals in what was a repeat of the World Open title decider from a few days ago.
Just like in Yushan, Un-Nooh came through a tough test against Kyren Wilson that lasted the distance in order to challenge Trump.
Then, in a mirror-like opening to Sunday’s fixture against the world champion, the Thai fell too far behind early on, making his late rally largely redundant.
Trump raced into a 4-0 lead at the mid-session interval courtesy of a brace of tons and a break of 60.
Un-Nooh, who trailed 7-1 in China before losing 10-5 to Trump, won three out of the next four frames to put a seed of doubt into his opponent’s mindset.
However, the Englishman composed himself with a break of 68 sending him through to face Mark Allen on Saturday evening.
🏆 “This is a big event for me”@judd147t has his sights firmly set on the top prize as he looks to go one better than his runner-up best finish back in 2014.
Standing in his way first is a huge clash with Antrim’s @pistol147 on Saturday!#ChampOfChamps pic.twitter.com/yLuefieKUr
— ChampionofChampions (@ChampOfChamps) November 6, 2019
The final quarter of the draw will be contested on Thursday with the defending champion finally entering the fray.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, who has never failed to reach the final in Coventry when he’s participated in the tournament, clashes against old friend Jimmy White.
The “Whirlwind” is competing in this year’s lucrative invitational thanks to his World Seniors Championship glory in August.
It could well be the last time that the 57 year-old features on the TV at a major competition on the Main Tour, so it’s a possible opportunity for him to produce one last hurrah in what has been an illustrious professional career.
The winner of that tie will take on either John Higgins or Stuart Bingham in the last eight, a pair who are familiar with one another having crossed paths in China last week as well.
The Champion of Champions features 16 competitors who have collected silverware in the last twelve months.
It’s unique in that it’s the only tournament on the calendar in which a semi-finalist is determined on each of the first four days.
