World number one Judd Trump is favourite to lift snooker’s UK Championship – but left a veteran commentator shocked during his match with Anda Zhang.
Leading comfortably 5-1 against the Chinese underdog, 2019 World Champion Trump – who defeated the Wizard of Wishaw John Higgins in a gripping second round clash where Higgins admitted he was “riddled with nerves” – was on course for a far less tense afternoon in front of a packed crowd at the York Barbican, scoring 570 without reply. However it wasn’t all plain sailing for the top seed, who had previously seen a break-off in the early stages of his first round clash with Neil Robertson labelled “diabolical” by commentators.
Behind 20-3, the Englishman – who had hit out at the quality of the tables earlier in the competition – somehow managed to pocket the white, as the cue ball evaded all 16 remaining on the table – leaving veteran commentator John Virgo staggered. Virgo, who won the UK Championship himself in 1979 shouted his trademark “where’s the cue ball going”, before adding: “You couldn’t believe that. There’s no way in the world that you could’ve foreseen that. It didn’t hit another ball on the way through, it’s amazing the things that can happen on a snooker table.”
It proved vital to the frame as well, as Zhang went on to clear the table with a century break to win just his second frame of the afternoon – earning praise from Scots legend Stephen Hendry, who said: “He’s got a fabulous temperament, he just seems to be going round the table not paying attention to the situation. Sometimes when you’re in Judd’s chair you ask why are they still trying, why don’t they just give up. And then you start getting annoyed with yourself.”
Trump wasted no time making amends however, with a fourth century of the match rounding out a dominant win – as he secured his spot in the semi-finals.