Judd Trump beats Kyren Wilson 6-2 in the Masters at Alexandra Palace

By Richard Mann

Snooker

Wed January 16, 2019 · 6y ago

Judd Trump claimed the bragging rights over rival Kyren Wilson by running out an easy 6-2 winner of the their first-round Masters clash at Alexandra Palace.

The match had been billed as the showcase tie of the first round given the rivalry between the two players but Trump let his cue do the talking, producing a near faultless display to dominate Wilson who looked overawed by the occasion and could never settle after a shaky start.

Trump wasted little time in stamping his authority on the match, compiling a fabulous break of 128 in frame one before doubling his lead when dominating the second frame.

💯 What a way to start from @judd147t

🎱 A 128 break from Trump who seems up for this grudge match...pic.twitter.com/e0ao9qaH7S
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) January 16, 2019

Wilson looked set to get his first frame on the board in the next but when he broke down on the cusp of passing the winning line, Trump stepped in with a nerveless clearance of 58 to lead 3-0.

More ruthless stuff from Trump, this time a break of 81, saw the left-hander take frame four and head to the mid-session in complete control.

It was more of the same upon the resumption as further unforced errors from Wilson allowed Trump to put himself one frame away from victory and though the former stopped the rot by winning frames six and seven, he was merely delaying the inevitable.

Trump wasted little time in wrapping up proceedings moments later, some wonderful positional play - one of the key differences between the two players all afternoon - helping him finish off with a break of 72 and book his place in the quarter-finals.

Trump the BBC: "Everyone had been building it up. We don't really see eye to eye. Both of us have got massive self-belief.

"The two of us clash, we don't speak. We don't really get on.

"I'm happy to have won that. I think it would have been very disappointing to lose the game.

He went on: "It is good to win. I just went out there and tried to play like I would against anyone else.

"With what everyone has made of it, I think if you go in there trying too hard it can backfire. I tried to play the balls and clear up whenever I could.

"I missed an important one to win the match but I did well in the last frame to get over the line."

Selby sublime as Maguire has no answers

Mark Selby produced a dominant display, one of his best for some time, as he cruised into the quarter-finals of the Masters at the expense of Stephen Maguire.

It was the Scot who started the brighter, winning the first frame, before Selby responded with a magnificent break of 115, his first of three centuries in the match.

Selby missed out on another century in frame three but a break of 95 was enough to see him go in front at 2-1 before he extended his lead further when stroking in a flawless run of 125.

The mid-session interval allowed Maguire to regroup and he won the first frame upon the resumption before normal service was resumed when Selby compiled a fabulous run of 133 to the pink in frame six.

👏 Mark Selby

💯 Century breaks of 133, 125 & 115
👍 Two more of 96 and 95

😯 The world number one cruises into the Masters quarter-finals, where he'll meet Judd Trump!pic.twitter.com/I7SOasQ1aU
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) January 16, 2019

Another sizeable contribution, this time 96, put Selby within one frame of victory and he wasted little time in closing out the match as he set up a quarter-final clash with Judd Trump.

Selby told Eurosport: "It's great to get off to a winning start and perform the way I did.

"After the first frame I played almost faultless snooker."

On facing Trump, Selby said: "Looking forward to it. Judd's a class act, he's had some bad press but I don't know why because he's already won eight ranking tournaments.

"He's a future world champion in my eyes."