Champion of Champions day three results and report: Judd Trump beats Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-3

Trump blitz sinks Thepchaiya

Judd Trump booked his place in the semi-finals of Champion of Champions with a superb 6-3 defeat of Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Thepchaiya’s hopes of avenging his loss to Trump in the final of the World Open on Sunday would have been boosted by the form he produced in defeating Kyren Wilson earlier in the day but he was outgunned by the reigning world champion whose own performance was right out of the top drawer.

Thepchaiya might well have won either of the opening two frames of the night but his failure to settle cost him dear and when Trump punished a missed blue from his opponent in frame two with a break of 60, the precedent for the rest of the evening had been set.

Despite getting his hand on the table early in frame three, Thepchaiya again failed to capitalise and Trump stepped in once more, a couple of precise pots to the middle pocket paving the way for a fabulous clearance of 114 that was finished in an extraordinary fashion.

With the century already assured, Trump thumped the final pink down the side cushion into the green pocket with deep screw back for the black which he then slammed into the leather while on the walk and seemingly halfway back to his chair.

Minutes later Trump was heading to the mid-session interval with a 4-0 lead and another century to his name, not a total clearance this time but a breathless run of 128 that burst into life when he again cut brilliantly to middle with the break in its infancy.

Frame five finally saw Thepchaiya on the front foot as he built a healthy lead – Trump conceding 16 points in fouls – and a typically fluent break of 73 saw him reduce his arrears to 4-1, much to the delight of the packed Coventry crowd.

Trump hit straight back, however, a misjudged attempted safety from Thepchaiya giving the former the chance to pot brilliantly from distance and some surgical positional play thereafter helped him put together another frame-winning contribution, this time of 89.

Thepchaiya did keep his hopes alive when a break of 61 broke the back of frame seven and with the help of a huge fluke, managed to add a break 66 in frame eight to continue his comeback.

However, Trump kept his patience and jumped at the chance to close out the match when it arose, picking and punching his way to a break of 71 that killed off the match and set up a last-four meeting with Mark Allen.

Old foes serve up another cracker

For the second time in less than a week, Thepchaiya Un-Nooh got the better of Kyren Wilson in a final-frame decider to set up a meeting with Trump on Wednesday evening.

Having come from 4-1 and 5-3 down to prevail in their World Open semi-final on Saturday, Thepchaiya again held his nerve in a high-quality affair that saw both players produce some sparkling snooker.

If that bruising defeat in China had left its mark on Wilson, it was hard to tell as he opened up with an authoritative break of 62 to take early the initiative.

However, Thepchaiya soon settled into his rhythm and quickly reeled off three frames on the bounce with breaks of 63, 51 and 90, the first of which came after Wilson had built up a healthy lead in frame two only to open the door for his opponent to produce a decisive counter.

With Thepchaiya now rapidly closing in on another victory, Wilson responded brilliantly to put together runs of 102 and 98 and force another final frame shoot-out but his efforts were to prove in vain once more, the Thai star holding himself together to produce a match-winning break of 69.

Ruthless Trump trounces Maguire

Recent World Open winner Judd Trump showed no ill effects of his exertions in China as he cruised to a 4-0 whitewash of Stephen Maguire on Wednesday afternoon.

Maguire, who was sporting a walking boot on his right leg, offered little resistance as Trump continued where he left off in China, racing into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 76 and 102 while his opponent only managed four points in reply.

Frame three proved much more competitive but when Maguire failed to get over the line, his race was run and a break of 68 in frame four was enough for Trump to wrap up proceedings and prepare for tougher tests ahead.

Wednesday schedule

Wednesday November 6
Afternoon session (1300 GMT)
TV coverage: ITV4
Group 2 semi-finals - best of seven

• Judd Trump 4-0 Stephen Maguire
• Kyren Wilson 3-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Evening session (1900 GMT)
TV coverage: ITV4
Group 2 final - best of 11

• Judd Trump 6-3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Related links

• Champion of Champions outright preview
• Champion of Champions draw & schedule