Players Championship: Judd Trump beats Fu in final
Judd Trump claimed his second ranking title of the season with a 10-8 victory over Marco Fu in the Players Championship final in Llandudno.
The success ends Trump's three-match losing streak in ranking finals having missed out on glory at the Gibraltar Open, Welsh Open and English Open since his last trophy at the European Masters back in October.
The Bristol cueman overturned a 5-4 deficit following the afternoon session, during which he had also trailed 5-2 before back-to-back centuries sparked a revival, as he won six of the next nine frames to clinch the winners' cheque of £125,000.
"I'm delighted, there's a lot of relief - I've played in a lot of finals this season and lost the last three I think ," Trump told ITV 4.
"Neither of us were at our best this evening; it was a bit scrappy which probably made it more exciting for the crowd to see us twitching.
"I do normally go behind in finals - maybe a bit of a slow starter - so I knew I could rattle off a few frames. I'm delighted and excited to have won."
Trump made a good start with a break of 83 in the opening frame of the match but Scottish Open champion Fu, who was aiming to earn the biggest payday of his career, responded with runs of 53 and 73 to go 2-1 up.
The Hong Kong potter watched Trump pull level before making breaks of 67, 48, 39 and 83 to storm into a commanding 5-2 lead - but the momentum was soon to shift in the Englishman's favour.
Trump's century breaks of 136 and 115 cut the deifict to just one frame and he picked up where he left off at the start of the evening session by taking the next four, with the help of runs of 110, 63 and 76.
Fu halted his opponent's charge by winning the following two frames only for Trump to respond with his fourth century break of the match - 102.
The 39-year-old refused to lie down with a run of 58 to keep the match alive but he was unable to force a decider as Trump held his nerve to clinch victory.
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Players Championship 2017: Tournament results
Monday March 6
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
First Round (Best of 9 frames)
Stuart Bingham (4) 1-5 Anthony Hamilton (13)
Ronnie O’Sullivan (7) 5-1 Liang Wenbo (10)
Click here for full Monday review
Tuesday March 7
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
First Round (Best of 9 frames)
Mark Selby (1) 5-4 Ryan Day (16)
Marco Fu (8) 5-1 Anthony McGill (9)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
First Round (Best of 9 frames)
Barry Hawkins (3) 0-5 Neil Robertson (14)
Judd Trump (2) 5-2 Mark King (15)
Click here for full Tuesday review
Wednesday March 8
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
First Round (Best of 9 frames)
Ding Junhui (5) 5-4 John Higgins (12)
Ali Carter (6) 5-4 Shaun Murphy (11)
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Ronnie O'Sullivan 3-5 Judd Trump
Click here for full Wednesday review
Thursday March 9
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Neil Robertson 1-5 Ali Carter
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Mark Selby 2-5 Marco Fu
Click here for full Thursday review
Friday March 10
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Quarter-Finals (Best of 9 frames)
Ding Junhui 5-2 Anthony Hamilton
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
Judd Trump 6-4 Ali Carter
Click here for full Friday review
Saturday March 11
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Semi-Finals (Best of 11 frames)
Ding Junhui 5-6 Marco Fu
Click here for full Saturday review
Sunday March 12
Afternoon Session (1300 GMT)
Final (Best of 19 frames)
Judd Trump 4-5 Marco Fu
Evening Session (1900 GMT)
Final (Best of 19 frames)
Judd Trump 10-8 Marco Fu