Maguire Downs Trump To Reach Semis

Judd Trump’s hopes of winning back to back titles came to an end as he was beaten 5-2 by Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals of the D88.com German Masters.

Maguire will meet Kyren Wilson in the semis in Berlin on Saturday at 8pm, while David Gilbert will take on Duane Jones at 2pm.

Trump won the Masters last month, his second Triple Crown title, but his form deserted him tonight as he made too many errors against clinical Maguire.

Breaks of 87, 74 and 53 gave Glasgow’s Maguire a 3-1 lead. Trump pulled one back with a run of 69 then Maguire’s 70 made it 4-2. Both players missed chances in frame seven before a thumping long pot on the last red from world number 15 Maguire set him up to clinch victory. The 37-year-old is chasing his sixth ranking title and first since the 2013 Welsh Open.

“I have just started working with a coach for the first time, Chris Small, and I felt the benefit out there tonight,” said Maguire, who reached the semi-finals of the Riga Masters and English Open earlier in the season.

“You know what Judd can do to you, you just have to get in first and luckily I did tonight. And I played well this evening. I go for my shots, I always have – what is the point of attempting shots to nothing?

“The atmosphere here from the semis when it is one table in front of 2,500 fans is incredible, the time I got to the final against Ronnie O’Sullivan here in 2012 is still the best I have ever experienced.”

World number 90 Jones continued his incredible run by beating Ding Junhui 5-3. The 25-year-old Welshman had never previously been beyond the last 32 of a ranking event but is now into the semis.

He had earned just £3,000 this season prior to this tournament but is now guaranteed at least £20,000 from this event. Two more wins at the Tempodrom would bank him £80,000 and also earn him a place in next week’s Coral World Grand Prix in Cheltenham (for more on that race click here.)

From 3-1 down against Ding he took the last four frames with top breaks of 66 and 75.

“I can’t believe it,” said former pub barman Jones. “I was really nervous at the start tonight and at 2-0 down I thought I had blown it. I didn’t play my best but I played decent in spells and Ding let me off the hook. I have been practising like a madman back home so I knew my game was in good shape.

“The fans here love the underdog. I have seen a few players I grew up with getting to semi-finals this season, like Eden Sharav, and I’ve been sitting at home watching on TV thinking I’d love to have a crack myself. It’s a dream come true.”

It was a fantastic day for David Gilbert as he knocked out both Mark Selby and Neil Robertson. After edging out world number one Selby 5-4 earlier in the day, Gilbert came back just two hours later and recovered a 3-1 deficit to beat Robertson 5-3.

Breaks of 57, 120, 62 and 50 gave Gilbert the last four frames as he reached the semi-finals of a ranking event for the third time in his career.

“This is one of the best venues we play at but I have never done well here before,” said Gilbert, who was runner-up at the Yushan World Open in August. “To beat Mark and Neil on the same day is great. I was abysmal in the four four frames tonight but I stuck in there and from 3-1 down I found some rhythm.”

World Champion Mark Williams managed a top break of just 16 as he lost 5-0 to Wilson, who scored runs of 81, 61 and 54.

All pictures by O.Behrendt / contrast