Judd Trump secured his inaugural UK Championship title in 2011.
Defending champion Judd Trump advanced convincingly to the semi-finals of the UK Championship, securing a 6-2 victory over three-time titleholder Ding Junhui.
The result offered a measure of redemption for world number one Trump following his semi-final defeat to Ding at the same venue in York two years prior.
Ding, whose first triumph in this tournament came exactly 20 years ago, began strongly with breaks of 89 and 83. However, Trump subsequently seized control to reach his third consecutive UK semi-final.
A break of 73 narrowed the deficit before Trump secured two close frames. He then compiled a break of 91 to establish a 4-2 lead.
Trump, a 30-time ranking title winner, capitalized on errors from his underperforming opponent, booking a semi-final clash against Australia’s Neil Robertson, who overcame a resilient Pang Junxu 6-4.
“In the last couple of events I have found the confidence to go for it,” Trump stated.
“It has not been vintage, but the difference this tournament has been the timing. When I have needed to make a clearance or pot an important ball, they have been going in.
“I feel a lot more confident. Even though I am not back to my best, I’ve done everything I need to do at the crucial times.”
Trump’s upcoming match against Robertson will be a rematch of the 2020 UK final, which Robertson won 10-9 in a closely contested encounter that extended into the early hours.
Later on Friday, Shaun Murphy secured a 6-3 victory over Zhang Anda, reaching the tournament’s semi-finals for the first time since 2017.
Murphy is set to face either fellow former UK champion Mark Selby or last year’s finalist, Barry Hawkins.
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Robertson, a UK Champion in 2013 and 2015, ultimately proved too strong for China’s Pang, who was making his debut in a quarter-final of a Triple Crown event.
Despite Pang taking the opening frame, a series of unforced errors meant that he rarely put Robertson under sustained pressure in the early stages.
The 26-time ranking event winner recorded just one break over 50 as he claimed the next four frames, then constructed a superb run of 111 to move to the brink of victory.
However, momentum shifted dramatically in the seventh frame, when 25-year-old Pang came to the table trailing 72-11 with only 51 points remaining.
Instead of conceding, he secured a snooker, and when Robertson fouled, conceding seven points by hitting the black, Pang gained a free ball. This provided the impetus for an outstanding clearance of 51 to snatch the frame.
“That is the kind of situation that would be on a quiz asking what happened next,” Robertson said.
“You could never even try to replicate that. I was brilliant to get to 5-1. That would be one of the breaks of the tournament [from Pang].”
Seemingly emboldened, qualifier Pang crafted a wonderful 115 break and then won the ninth frame.
His comeback ultimately ended there, with Robertson closing out the match with a break of 75.
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