Tour Championship 2022: Luca Brecel tames Judd Trump to book semi-final meeting with John Higgins
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ByEurosport
Published 31/03/2022 at 20:54 GMT
Judd Trump trailed 6-2 and 8-3 but cut the deficit to 8-6 in his Tour Championship quarter-final against Luca Brecel. However, the comeback ended there, with 2021 Scottish Open champion Brecel finishing the job to reach the last four, where he will face John Higgins. Ronnie O’Sullivan takes on Neil Robertson in the other semi-final.
Luca Brecel at the Scottish Open
Image credit: Eurosport
Luca Brecel secured an impressive 10-6 victory over Judd Trump to reach the semi-finals of the Tour Championship.
Brecel, playing at the same venue as his Scottish Open triumph in December, faces John Higgins on Saturday for a place in the final in Llandudno.
Ronnie O’Sullivan plays Neil Robertson in the other last-four encounter on Friday, while, after a troubled season, Trump will turn his attention to the World Championship in a fortnight’s time.
Trailing 6-2 from the afternoon session, Trump opened the evening with a stunning long plant, but immediately snatched at the subsequent yellow to return to his chair.
"It’s almost like his concentration’s not there,” Ken Doherty said on ITV commentary, before Brecel seized control of the frame with a 57.
Trump was able to reduce the deficit to 57-34, but he missed a thin cut on the black, after the 15th red, and Brecel knocked in the yellow and green to take the frame – Trump deciding against chasing two snookers with four colours left.
Brecel then went for power at the start of the 10th frame, but his miss opened up the reds and provided Trump with a strong opportunity to win in one visit.
The 2019 world champion managed just that, with his 76 including a risky shot which resulted in two reds going in – the first from the tough cut he was aiming for, the second a fluke into the pocket by the yellow.
An early opening in the next frame saw a confident Trump sink a long red and hold for the black, but the break ended at 48 on a “missable” black, according to Doherty.
Brecel cut the deficit and dared to go for a double on the penultimate red when nearing Trump’s points total, a bold move which paid off, and he then potted an even tougher final red before clearing up the table to take an 8-3 lead with a masterful 86.
Needing seven frames and to restrict Brecel to no more than one, Trump was unable to find another gear despite being presented with chances, this time a break of 37 ending on a missed back before Brecel responded with 44 of his own.
Brecel looked as though he would take a 9-3 lead, but a surprise foul on a blue left him playing his own snooker, and a nudge on the yellow towards the pocket allowed Trump to sweep up all the colours and make it 8-4.
After the mid-session interval, Trump put out a signal of intent, racking up the biggest break of the tournament so far with a 140 to reduce Brecel’s lead to three frames.
Trump looked revitalised when potting a long red at the start of the next frame, and though another basic miss on the second red proved the errors weren’t over yet, he was soon back at the table to put together 103 and make it 8-6 with back-to-back tons.
Once again, a buoyant Trump struck first, but a difficult yellow stayed out and Brecel found himself playing on a table with the reds wide open. Brecel went on to miss a routine blue, but he edged the following safety exchange and moved within one frame of victory.
Brecel sealed it with that very next frame, posting 73 to not only outline his potential of winning the Tour Championship, but also a shot at the World Championship next month too.
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