UK Championship snooker 2020 - Judd Trump hits 750th century and holds off Dominic Dale to advance

ByJames Walker-Roberts

Updated 28/11/2020 at 22:46 GMT

Judd Trump reached a century landmark as he beat Dominic Dale 6-3 at the UK Championship. The world No 1 joined Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Stephen Hendry as the only players to make 750 centuries, but had to hold off a late fightback from Dale to advance.

Judd Trump hit his 750th career century as he held off a late challenge from Dominic Dale to reach the last 32 of the UK Championship.

Trump hit the milestone in the second frame of the match, joining Ronnie O’Sullivan, John Higgins and Stephen Hendry as the only other players to reach the landmark.

The world No 1 looked to be cruising at 5-1 but Dale reeled off two frames in a row and had a chance to take another, only to miss a red to the middle at 44-0 ahead.

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Trump sinks 750th career century

Trump cleaned up with a break of 91 to set up a meeting with Liang Wenbo or Andy Hicks.

Dale made a promising start to the match as he took the opening frame and then trapped Trump in a snooker that required six attempts to escape.

However, Trump soon found his rhythm and reeled off back-to-back 109 breaks to take the lead.

Trump on fire with consecutive century breaks against Dale

Dale had a chance in the fourth frame after Trump missed a blue to the middle, but he only added 12 before leaving a red over the jaws of the corner pocket.

Trump took the frame to lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval and he extended his advantage after getting the better of a safety battle.

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The world No 1 made a break of 71 to move 5-1 ahead and he looked set to wrap up the match as he moved 21-0 ahead in frame seven.

However, Trump rattled a red in and out of the jaws of the bottom left corner and Dale took his chance with a break of 70 securing the frame.

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Dale followed up with a break of 72 to move 5-3 behind and looked full of confidence as he split the pack in the next frame.

But he threw his chalk in frustration after missing a red to the middle on 44, with the miss proving decisive as Trump cleaned up to book his spot in the next round.

Barry Hawkins advanced with a 6-1 win over Robbie Williams while three-time champion John Higgins won 6-3 against Gerard Greene.

SECOND ROUND

Saturday, 28 November

Afternoon (1pm)

• Ding Junhui 5-6 David Grace
• Luca Brecel 5-6 Xiao Guodong
• Jimmy White 1-6 Zhou Yuelong
• Lu Haotian 5-6 Anthony McGill
• Chen Zifan 6-5 Yan Bingtao
• Li Hang 6-3 Zhao Xintong
• Chris Wakelin 1-6 Neil Robertson
• Stephen Maguire 6-4 Stuart Carrington

Evening (7pm)

• Oliver Lines 1-6 Xu Si
• Chang Bingyu v Mark Allen
• Jak Jones v Simon Lichtenberg
• Gerard Greene 3-6 John Higgins
• Michael Holt 4-6 Hossein Vafaei
• David Gilbert 4-6 Robert Milkins
• Barry Hawkins 6-1 Robbie Williams
• Judd Trump 6-3 Dominic Dale

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