Judd Trump lost just one frame as he reached the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions on Monday in Bolton.
The Englishman emerged triumphantly from Group 1 to comfortably advance from the top quarter of the draw, and he’ll have plenty of time to relax ahead of his next clash on Friday evening.
Trump, twice a runner-up in the prestigious invitational that is promoted by Matchroom Sport, actually began the day in shaky fashion and lost the opening frame of his first-round contest with tournament outsider David Lilley.
The latter, whose invite came on the back of his success in the World Seniors Championship, had opportunities to heap more pressure on the world number two but couldn’t take advantage.
Trump drew on his big-time experience to ultimately get the job done with a 4-1 victory, and then he subsequently produced a much more assured performance in his quarter-final bout against Ryan Day.
Shoot Out champion Day had beaten Stephen Maguire in his opening fixture, but the Welshman couldn’t get a single frame on the board against the former world champion.
Trump set the tone with a 104 century break in the first frame and added further contributions of 68, 67, 61, and 52 to power through to the semi-finals with a whitewash 6-0 win.
The 32 year-old is the outright favourite for glory this year, and bettors.co.ke has plenty of good sign-up offers for online betting sites in the region.
The outcome of Tuesday’s Group 4 will determine who Trump will face on Friday, with a place in the final and a shot at the £150,000 champion’s cheque at stake.
Neil Robertson faces Mark Williams in one of the ties of the early stages, with the winner set to face either Kyren Wilson or Jordan Brown in the Group 4 final.
Live coverage of the Champion of Champions is available on ITV4 in Ireland and the UK, with other options on offer for broadcasts around the world.
Group 1 (Monday) | Group 4 (Tuesday) | |
JUDD TRUMP | TOP HALF | Kyren Wilson vs Jordan Brown |
Neil Robertson vs Mark Williams | ||
———————— | ———————— | |
Group 3 (Thursday) | Group 2 (Wednesday) | |
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Stuart Bingham | BOTTOM HALF | Mark Selby vs David Gilbert |
John Higgins vs Ding Junhui | Shaun Murphy vs Yan Bingtao |
Featured photo credit: Champion of Champions
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