Judd Trump strengthened his advantage over Shaun Murphy to take a 10-6 lead heading into tomorrow afternoon’s concluding session of their second-round clash at the Halo World Championship.
The Ace in the Pack also celebrated a major milestone during the evening, firing in his 100th century of the season to earn a £100,000 bonus. It comes in a campaign where he has already amassed over £1.4 million in prize money. The 2019 World Champion has claimed titles this season at the Shanghai Masters, Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, and the UK Championship.
Trump entered the evening session 5-3 ahead, but a marathon 43-minute opening frame went Murphy’s way to narrow the gap to 5-4. Trump responded with a break of 89 to take the tenth frame, only for Murphy to counter with 87 and make it 6-5. Before the mid-session interval, Trump produced a 97 break — falling just one ball short of what would have been his 99th century of the season.
Murphy claimed the first frame after the break, levelling at 6-6, but from there it was all Trump. Breaks of 106 and 102 secured his century of centuries, and a 92 break helped him to surge into a 10-6 advantage. They will play to a finish tomorrow from 1pm.
On the other table, Si Jiahui won a crucial final frame of the day to take a 9-7 lead over Ben Woollaston. Woollaston, who started the session trailing 5-3, closed the gap with breaks of 100 and 85 to move within a frame at 8-7. However, Si crafted a vital 46 break to pinch the final frame on the black. They also resume tomorrow at 1pm.