Tour Championship 2022: Judd Trump told to switch to World Championship as Luca Brecel names ‘dream’ final opponent
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Published 31/03/2022 at 21:46 GMT
Luca Brecel completed the Tour Championship semi-final line-up on Thursday night when beating Judd Trump 10-6. Brecel faces John Higgins in the last four but is already hoping for a final against Neil Robertson, who takes on Ronnie O’Sullivan in his semi-final. Meanwhile, Trump goes into this year’s World Championship with one ranking title to his name this season.
Judd Trump
Image credit: Getty Images
Judd Trump has been urged to forget about his Tour Championship exit and focus on the upcoming World Championship by Ken Doherty.
An impressive 10-6 victory saw Scottish Open champion Luca Brecel beat Trump in their quarter-final in Llandudno, in what is the final ranking event before the World Championship.
Trump has won one ranking title (Turkish Masters) this year compared to five the season prior, and despite back-to-back centuries of 140 and 103 on Thursday night, overall it was another below-par performance with too many routine misses – starting with a brown in the opening frame that typically he would have sunk.
“It started very badly, and it just didn’t happen. He missed a lot of blacks off the spot and they’re demoralising,” said Neal Foulds on ITV.
Doherty, the 1997 world champion, added: “He just didn’t look confident. I think it goes back to that very first miss on the brown. It unnerved him, and he looked very nervous. He had a little run tonight but other than that, he missed a lot of balls he wouldn’t normally.
“Sometimes we just have bad days, even the greatest players in the world can have a bad day. Just chalk it off, forget about it, he’s got a couple weeks before the World Championship comes along, and that’s all you can do – not delve into it too much.”
Meanwhile, Brecel is hoping to meet Neil Robertson in the Tour Championship final, although John Higgins and Ronnie O’Sullivan may have something to say about that.
Brecel held off Trump to complete the semi-final line-up, and he faces Higgins on Saturday after O’Sullivan takes on Robertson on Friday.
Having beaten Higgins 9-5 in the Scottish Open final for his second ranking title in December, Brecel is looking forward to the rematch – but also ahead to a potential meeting with Robertson.
“I just waited for my chances and when it came, I took it. I’m just so happy to win because this match was huge for me,” Brecel said.
“The final of the Scottish Open was amazing, so to be here again to play Higgins in best-of-19 is fantastic.
“It’s good for my game. Now my dream would be to play the final against Neil Robertson, because I admire him – so it would be good to play him.”
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'It doesn't get sweeter than that' Brecel beats Higgins to win Scottish Open
Dissecting the win over Trump, Doherty praised Brecel for keeping his cool when it mattered.
Brecel led 6-2 going into the evening session, and though Trump reduced the deficit to 8-6, the comeback stopped there.
“I loved the way he finished off the match. Calm, composed, self-confident. That’s a very good sign,” said Doherty.
“When you’ve beaten someone like Higgins in a final, it gives you huge confidence. He won’t have that fear factor, and that’s half the battle – believing in yourself.”
Foulds added: “He played so well. The stats were even but sometimes the numbers don’t tell you the full story. He played positive, and he doesn’t mind the cue ball running a little loose.
“There’s no doubt he was the better player by some margin.”
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