World Snooker Championship: Kyren Wilson beats Barry Hawkins; Judd Trump sees off Ding Junhui and Ali Carter wins
A review of the action on day ten of the Betfred World Championship where Judd Trump, Kyren Wilson and Ali Carter all produced remarkable comebacks at the Crucible.
Trump blitzes Ding with six of the best
On a day of a remarkable comebacks at the Crucible Theatre, Judd Trump produced his best form since arriving in Sheffield to win six frames on the bounce to come from 9-7 behind to beat Ding Junhui 13-9.
Trump had been on the back foot since seeing his 5-1 advantage in the first session of match evaporate but he turned his fortunes around with a stunning display which included breaks of 93, 79, 54 and 103.
Ding had seemingly taken control of the match on Sunday and resumed with a 9-7 advantage but his poor season caught up with him here, an early missed red to middle giving Trump all the incentive he needed to get the ball rolling and with his long game having seemingly deserted him, the Chinese star was powerless to prevent another defeat in Sheffield.
Trump closed out the match by taking a scrappy frame 22, one which Ding had looked set to pinch to keep his hopes alive, to set up a quarter-finals clash with Stephen Maguire.
Trump said afterwards: "I've probably been the worst player of the whole tournament so far so I knew I had to raise my game and I was prepared to go out there and fight.
"You have to look at Neil Robertson and Kyren Wilson - those two are leagues above the standard I've seen in the tournament so far, so I just have to keep competing and hope my chance will come."
Wilson wows in epic comeback
Kyren Wilson rose to the occasion to reel off back-to-back centuries and seal a 13-11 victory over Barry Hawkins in a record-breaking World Championship showdown.
Breaks of 125 and 132 in the last two frames saw Wilson erase an overnight deficit of 9-7 as he took the total of tons in the match to nine - a new mark for a best-of-25 match in Sheffield.
Wilson's break in the penultimate frame saw him edge in front for the first time in a match in which he had trailed 6-1, after Hawkins scored four centuries of his own in the first session.
Wilson said: "Towards the end I reeled off the games very comfortably. I've worked really hard for this event and that's the time you rely on it and it comes out."
Wilson, a semi-finalist last year, suggested an incident in the penultimate session when an outrageous kick cost him a frame and saw him slip 9-5 behind, might have worked in his favour.
"Sometimes it gives you a bit of fire and adrenaline and if you carry that with you you can achieve great things," added Wilson, who now goes on to a last eight clash with 16th seed David Gilbert.
Hawkins, a six-times Crucible quarter-finalist, said he was planning to "go mental for a bit" after suffering a defeat which he said summed up his topsy-turvy season.
"The way I started felt great then last night it cost me," said Hawkins. "I'm glad it's over now. I'm going to put my cue away, belatedly celebrate my 40th birthday, and go mental for a bit."
The Captain stuns Yuelong
Ali Carter won all six frames of the concluding session of his match with Zhou Yuelong to prevail 13-9 and book his place in the last eight.
Carter seemingly had it all to do when trailing 5-3 and 9-7 but he cut a determined figure upon the resumption and took the opening frame of the afternoon, a scrappy one, after both players had chances to take the early initiative.
Two breaks of 72 were enough to see Carter take the lead for only the second time in the match at 10-9 before he produced another vital run, this time of 55, to win frame 20 and head to the mid-session interval two frames in front.
Yuelong tried to rally after the break but Carter produced more fearless potting and rock-solid safety play to claim his fifth frame in a row, putting him within touching distance of victory.
There was still time for more drama, though, as Yuelong missed the final black in frame 22, a thin cut to the bottom right-hand corner pocket hanging in the jaws and allowing Carter to deliver the knockout blow in an enthralling contest.
Higgins ignites memories of yesteryear
Four-times world champion John Higgins booked his place in yet another Crucible quarter-final with a hard-fought 13-11 victory over 2015 winner Stuart Bingham.
Higgins has endured a largely miserable time of it since finishing runner-up in Sheffield last year but he produced something close to his best here, a masterful and ruthless clearance of 50 in frame 20 inching him into an 11-9 lead and delivering a hammer blow on Bingham.
To his credit, Bingham responded by winning the following two frames to draw level again at 11-11 and promise a grandstand finale before Higgins ensured that it was he who had the final say.
Play had resumed at 8-8 after Bingham ended the second session on Sunday afternoon by winning a closely-contested frame 16 but Higgins started the final session as he would end it, dominating the opening frame with a break of 97, and he was still going strong nearly four hours later as a run of 63 set up a quarter-finals meeting with Neil Robertson.
Monday's World Championship scores
- Ali Carter 13-9 Zhou Yuelong
- Barry Hawkins 11-13 Kyren Wilson
- Judd Trump 13-9 Ding Junhui
- John Higgins 13-11 Stuart Bingham
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