Judd Trump beats Stuart Bingham in cagey affair to set up final showdown against Mark Williams at The Masters
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Updated 14/01/2023 at 23:45 GMT
Judd Trump is through to his second Masters final following a scrappy and cagey 6-1 win over Stuart Bingham at Alexandra Palace on Saturday. He will meet Mark Williams in Sunday's final, but he knows he'll have to play much better if he's to get his hands on the prize. Despite the large margin of victory, Trump was far from his best, missing a series of shots and struggled to put frames to bed.
'Dashing' 87 doubles Trump's lead against Bingham
Judd Trump beat Stuart Bingham 6-1 in a cagey semi-final at The Masters to reach Sunday’s final where he will play Mark Williams.
Both players were far from their best, but Trump had the run of the balls and was on the right side of the key moments to take, on paper, what was a comfortable win. In truth, it was a scoreline that flattered him.
His reward is a second career Masters final, following his triumph at the Alexandra Palace in 2019.
Trump made a good start with breaks of 58 and 97 to win the opening two frames, whilst Bingham struggled with his long game which was excellent in the quarter-finals
The world No. 4 looked like he was going to take a 3-0 lead but missed a red to the middle. Bingham stepped in and made a lovely 93, having some fun with the crowd on the final black by pointing where he wanted the white to land.
In the fourth frame, Trump was 60 points ahead but Bingham brought it back to 60-45 with just the colours remaining.
However, Bingham went in-off on the green which allowed Trump to sweep up and take a 3-1 advantage into the mid-session interval.
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Trump edges dramatic end to fourth frame
The next frame went scrappy, again coming down to the colours with the scores at 47-44 to Bingham.
Both players produced some great snookers and escapes in a dramatic battle. After spending 16 minutes on the yellow, Trump potted the first colour.
Bingham brilliantly doubled the green into the top right pocket and knocked in the brown but then ran out of position on the blue as the never-ending frame continued.
Another safety exchange played out and a delightful blue from Trump saw him go on to pot the pink and black, winning a frame that lasted 45 minutes.
Mistakes also plagued the next frame, which Trump should have won a lot earlier. He had the advantage for the majority of it but missed his chances and was clearly not confident.
At 66-34, Trump slotted in a long red as a shot to nothing and went on to go 5-1 up, riding on fortune from some missed efforts.
It looked like Trump was going to finish on a high as he built up a 58-point lead, but with a century on offer, he missed a red to - once again - allow his opponent a way back into the game. Although he would eventually seal the frame and match, Trump knows he'll have to play much better if he's to get his hands on the prize on Sunday night.
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