Judd Trump

Snooker results: Judd Trump beats Kyren Wilson 6-5 at the Masters to reach quarter-finals

By Sporting Life

Snooker

Wed January 10, 2024 · 11M ago

Defending champion Judd Trump recovered from 3-0 down to beat Kyren Wilson 6-5 at the Masters to reach the quarter-finals.

Trump was below his best for large parts of a match perhaps more notable for its mistakes and intrusion from several insect visitors to the table, and Wilson will rue letting him off the hook having been in command early on - and three pots away from victory at the death.

It was after the mid-session interval that the match turned around, Trump taking frame five courtesy of a century break and adding frames six and seven, Wilson missing opportunities in all three.

A straight red down the cushion that rattled in the jaws proved particularly costly as Trump moved ahead for the first time, before Wilson again found himself among the balls at 4-3 down and again couldn't capitalise.

Wilson in fact had multiple chances in a scrappy, 40-minute frame, particularly when Trump spread the colours and left him needing to clear them only to fail to secure position on the green. After another safety battle, Wilson's thick contact left the way clear for Trump to make it five in a row.

By now, Wilson's hopes were vanishingly small, but a good pot from range got him back within one, before a hearty half-century forced a deciding frame just as Trump might have felt the job was almost done.

Wilson then made another excellent half-century in the 11th and final frame but came unstuck playing a vital cannon before narrowly missing a delicate red, and Trump countered to land the killer blow.

Moments of brilliance are all but guaranteed when Trump is at the table, but second-round opponent Ali Carter will hope they're equalled by the occasional sloppiness that meant this was an opportunity missed for Wilson.

Trump told Eurosport afterwards: “It was a bit of a scrappy game and it was nip and tuck the whole way through.

“I felt like I threw it away at 5-4. Kyren made an amazing break to go 5-5 and it looked like he would get over the line but he just left that little gap and I took it quite well.”

Hawkins downs Robertson

In the evening match, Barry Hawkins set up a quarter-final clash with seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan by avenging defeat to Neil Robertson in the 2022 final with a 6-3 victory.

The pair shared the opening two frames before Hawkins began to get the better of a series of lengthy safety battles to nudge into a 4-1 lead.

However, Australian Robertson, fresh from a festive trip back home in a bid to recharge for the remainder of the campaign, proved he was up for the fight with back-to-back breaks of 117 and 110 to reduce the deficit to a single frame.

Two-time Masters finalist Hawkins edged one frame away from victory with a knock of 69.

He missed a golden chance early in the next when he ran out of position after potting the opening red but recovered to progress to a showdown with O’Sullivan, who beat him 10-1 in the 2016 final.

“I haven’t beaten Neil in a long time so to beat him here is really pleasing,” Hawkins said.

“We all know he’s been struggling for a bit of form so coming into this match there’s always a bit of pressure because he’s not done anything all season.

“You can see he was not full of confidence but he showed signs of coming back at me there and it was nice to finish off the match.”