3 weeks ago
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WORLD No1 Judd Trump came agonisingly close to breaking a record set by Ronnie O’Sullivan during his UK Championship quarter-final clash with Zhang Anda.
The Ace managed a whopping 527 points without reply across five consecutive frames in York.
PA
PAIt saw him storm to a 5-0 lead over Zhang, who was forced to spend almost the entire first half of the match on his seat as a result.
Trump’s incredible run of consecutive points came to an end after the mid-session interval.
The 35-year-old was just 29 points shy of the record set by snooker legend O’Sullivan, which stands at 556 consecutive points.
O’Sullivan managed the incredible feat in his quarter-final meeting with Ricky Walden at the 2014 Masters.
He went on to defeat Stephen Maguire in the semi-finals before claiming his fifth Masters title with a 10-4 victory over Mark Selby that year.
Trump managed to hold his nerve to earn a 6-2 win over Zhang in Friday’s quarter-final.
Zhang pushed for a late comeback but the World No1 booked his place in the semis with a century.
He finished the match 674 points in total.
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Trump will now face Kyren Wilson or Michael Holt in the semi-finals.
The Ace was one of several players to criticise table conditions at the Barbican this week.
He said: “I’ve played in some bad conditions but that was close!
“It’s disappointing as it always seems to be in the big events over here. Very heavy all of the time. The cushions were bouncy and heavy.
“From the first day, they didn’t look great. Hopefully they can do something about it. I think all of the players are struggling. It’s disappointing for the people watching.”
The century-maker is now on course to earn a £1million Christmas bonus.
Should he reach Sunday’s final – banking a minimum of £100,000 – he will have secured more than £1m in prize money from ten tournaments this season.
The Juddernaut – who scored 126, 120, 131 and 120 – said: “I felt very comfortable out there.
“It’s up to me to play my best. If you can keep going out and putting out those performances, you’ll be in the mix to be considered the best player.
“When you’re in the zone, you don’t know what’s going on. You look up and five frames have gone. Time goes by so fast. It’s hard to explain. Everything feels easy.
“I didn’t know about the world record. I was disappointed to miss that red. It would have been nice to take another record off Ronnie.
“It shows that if you can get on with the game and not think too much, then those things can happen.
“Growing up I would have never dreamt of earning £1million in a season, let alone before Christmas.
“It shows the game has come on in terms of prize money and also shows my level of consistency. The way I have played I have really earned that.”
Surprise package Barry Hawkins – who is on the other side of the draw to Trump – was the second man to reach Saturday’s semi-finals following a 6-2 afternoon win over Shaun Murphy.
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