World Snooker Championship: Judd Trump and Gary Wilson share session

By Sporting Life

Snooker

Sat May 04, 2019 · 6y ago

A review of the semi-finals action on day 13 of the Betfred World Championship as Gary Wilson shared the opening session with Judd Trump.

Wilson and Trump share opening session

Qualifier Gary Wilson showed few signs of nerves as he shared the opening eight frames of the second semi-final with former finalist Judd Trump.

Wilson fired a break of 140 - just one behind the existing championship best held by his opponent - as he nudged into a 2-1 lead in the match.

Trump won the first and last frames of a high-speed mini-session but mistakes played into Wilson's hands as there was little to choose between the pair in the early stages.

👏 Amazing!

1⃣4⃣0⃣ Gary Wilson is showing absolutely no sign of nerves in his first Crucible semi-final as he fires in a break of 140 against Judd Trump! pic.twitter.com/6bltjiydCA
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) May 2, 2019

Trump surged out after the mid-session interval with a brilliant 39 break to nudge himself back into a one-frame lead.

But carelessness continued to cost him dear and an early mistake in the next allowed the seemingly nerveless Wilson to haul level again at 3-3.

The Newcastle player took advantage of a fluke to grab the initiative in a scrappy seventh frame, then was first in the balls to try to fashion an overnight lead.

After Wilson ran out of position on 25, Trump responded with a break of 54 which would ultimately prove enough to level the overnight score at 4-4.

An intriguing first session of this semi-final

Trump and Wilson end it all square at 4-4 pic.twitter.com/9SoH4C2YQW
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 2, 2019

Gilbert misses 147 but makes strong start

David Gilbert recovered from a few early jitters to lead John Higgins 5-3 at the conclusion of the first session of their Betfred World Championship semi-final at the Crucible.

Following a serene run to the last-four stage, Gilbert is making his first Crucible semi-final appearance and was noticeably edgy when play got under way, a string of unforced errors handing Higgins enough opportunities to finally kill off the opening frame.

Listen to the Crucible crowd roar! 🔊🔊🔊

David Gilbert's 147 attempt ends with heartbreak on the final black 💔#ilovesnooker pic.twitter.com/YxByQvGRGh
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) May 2, 2019

Higgins would go onto steal the second frame despite missing the green when hampered by the blue, Gilbert missing a simple pot on the same ball with the very next shot to allow his opponent to clear to the pink and go 2-0 in front.

An edgy third frame saw Gilbert finally get a foothold in the match and he immediately looked more relaxed, striding purposefully around the table in making a break of 94 in the following frame to ensure he went to the mid-session interval all square at 2-2.

Higgins stopped the rot upon the resumption, a run of 66 allowing him to regain the lead but Gilbert responded with a superb maximum break attempt, drawing level despite coming up short.

Gilbert negotiated the opening 14 reds with blacks and managed to find a terrific double on the final red, only to land awkwardly on the black.

Another attempted double this time went astray, to the disappointment of a packed Crucible Theatre, but Gilbert wasn't perturbed, dominating frame seven to inch into the lead for the first time in the match at 4-3.

Gilbert was in first in the final frame of the afternoon and despite breaking down on 51, Higgins wasn't able to produce one of his trademark counter attacks meaning he will trail 5-3 when play resumes at 10am on Friday morning.