UK Championship 2023: Judd Trump books his spot in quarter-finals after whitewash win over Jamie Jones

ByAramide Oladipo

Updated 29/11/2023 at 19:08 GMT

Judd Trump continues to impress at the 2023 UK Championship as he produced a fine performance to seal his place into the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The Englishman strolled to victory against a frustrated Jamie Jones. The world No. 2 told Eurosport before the match that he was playing with more "freedom", and that was evident for all to see at the Barbican Centre in York.

Judd Trump booked his spot in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship after continuing his excellent form with a 6-0 win over Jamie Jones on Wednesday.

Before the match, Trump told Eurosport that he was playing with a bit more "freedom", and he put on a clinical showing to seal his place in the last eight of the competition.

Trump, who won his opening match 6-1, set the tone against Jones with a century break and followed that up with two half-centuries on his way to a one-sided victory.

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“It was okay,” Trump told Eurosport. “I don’t think Jamie played his best snooker out there, I think he struggled a little bit and made it quite easy for me.

“I didn’t play brilliantly well, I kind of just did what I needed to do and picked up the bits and pieces really.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for Jones, who has not been beyond the quarter-final stage at the UK Championship.

Trump started the match in fantastic style to go 1-0 ahead by clearing the table with a run of 100, which was the 950th ton of his career.

The second frame was much more even but Jones could be seen shaking his head in frustration after scoring 45.

Trump missed a long shot to pot the brown to give Jones an opening and the Welshman responded by snookering Trump.

The No. 2 seed then missed four attempts at nicking a red which saw Jones go ahead by 19 points.

Both players then exchanged impressive safety shots, but Trump was able to pot a red which enabled him to take the frame away from Jones and take a 2-0 lead.

Jones started the third frame well with a stunning long shot to pot a red, but there was frustration etched on his face again when he missed another pot to the far right.

Watch as Trump closes out emphatic win over Jones at UK Championship

To make matters worse, the Welshman later returned with a foul and then set Trump up with an easy pot for a red, who then eased into a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Heading into the fourth frame, Trump was boasting a pot success of 95%, and that continued as he strolled into a 4-0 lead before the interval.

Jones had a chance in the fifth frame as he got to 44, but again he couldn't close it out.

Trump got to the table and took the frame, and then wrapped up an impressive win by taking the sixth.

Next up for Trump will be a clash with either Mark Selby or Barry Hawkins and he says he'll need to raise his level if he is to prevail.

“I know I haven’t been pushed yet,” he added. “It’s nice getting through easy, there’s no stress, but when you come up against the real great players, the likes of Barry Hawkins and Mark Selby, it’s going to be tricky.

“But I just need to keep grounded. I know that I’m not playing absolutely amazing [so] get back to the practice table, get better and get excited for the next game.”

On the other table, Ding Junhui remained on course to clinch a fourth UK crown with a clinical 6-3 victory over the in-form Tom Ford.

Not only was there a place in the quarter-finals on the line, but there was also the added nugget of a spot in the Masters next year.

It went the way of Ding, who started with back-to-back centuries to race into a 2-0 lead.

Ford hit back with a ton of his own and a break of 99 to level the contest at the interval.

‘He’s fluked it!’ – Ding wins frame in extraordinary fashion

The decisive moment arrived in the fifth when Ford broke down with the winning line in sight, allowing Ding to pinch it with to move ahead once again.

The pair shared the next two frames before Ding sealed his progress in style, a break of 106 setting up a last-eight clash with Mark Williams or Jamie Clarke.

Wednesday evening sees Selby face Hawkins and Williams take on Clarke.

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