Judd Trump survived a nerve shredding final frame to beat Shaun Murphy 6-5 and make the final of the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Riyadh.
The win sees Trump move to the edge of history, with one more victory standing between him and becoming the first ever winner of a ranking event in Saudi Arabia.
Tomorrow’s final will see the Ace in the Pack take on either Mark Williams or Si Jiahui. With a top prize of £500,000 on the line, it will be snooker’s most lucrative match ever outside of the World Championship.
World number one Trump moved to the summit of the rankings last month with his run to the final of the Xi’an Grand Prix, where he came up short against World Champion Kyren Wilson.
The 2019 World Champion has been in supreme form so far this season. He and Murphy met in the final of the Shanghai Masters, where Trump secured a more comfortable 11-5 victory. Trump has now won 14 of the 15 matches he’s played this term.
Defeat for Murphy sees him depart with £100,000 for making the semi-finals. The narrow loss this afternoon will come as a bitter pill to swallow, but having already made the Shanghai final he can reflect on a strong start to the season.
Trump stated prior to today’s encounter that he needed to get on top of Murphy in the early stages. He did just that, crafting breaks of 67 and 72 on his way to a 3-0 lead. Murphy responded by taking the last before the mid-session to trail 3-1 at the break.
Murphy continued to push hard after play resumed and he took a dramatic fifth on the black to move within a single frame.
Trump regained his two frame cushion to lead 4-2 and made a break of 67 to move clear in the seventh. However, Murphy made 67 of his own and forced a re-spot. He deposited the extra ball and fist pumped after closing within a frame at 4-3. Trump then pulled clear again at 5-3, but Murphy fired in runs of 78 and 60 to force a decider.
A hugely tense final frame eventually came down to the green. Murphy spurned his chance when chasing a difficult positional shot. Trump deposited it and the brown to leave his opponent leaving two snookers. He got one of them but it was to no avail as Trump got over the line to reach his 46th ranking event final.
“It was a tricky game. I threw away a couple of frames. Even though it was looking like it might turn around, I got over the line in the end with a bit of drama,” said 28-time ranking event winner Trump.
“It was difficult. He fought back well. At one point he was looking like he would win. I let it slip away at times and when you miss those chances sometimes you get punished. I managed to keep my head and get over the line.
“In the World Championship you have days off between games. After you win you have a day or two to calm yourself down and go again. Here it is important to get through as easy as possible. That was a very tough semi-final, but hopefully it wont impact me in the final.
“Whoever I play it will be a good game. I’ve had some good games over the past couple of years with both of them. Si is on the way up and Mark, in terms of age, is on the way down. He’s still very consistent and is able to adjust his game and battle with anyone. Mark is one of the top three or four players of all time and Si will be up there with the greats one day.”
Murphy said: “It is a sickener. Once you get to this stage of an event, with such prize money and prestige, you think about winning. It never really felt like the balls were going my way all match. It felt like I was trying to push water uphill. Lady luck wasn’t on my side for the majority, but Judd’s ability to keep potting balls is incredible. I think he is the best out and out potter we have ever seen.
“I am many things but I’m not a quitter. I kept trying and I couldn’t have given any more. Of course determination is only one of the ingredients you need to be a winner. Today I was lacking in a few areas and it wasn’t to be. We go again and look forward to the English Open in Brentwood.”