World Snooker Championship 2022 - Mark Williams roars back against Judd Trump who was blitzed despite two centuries

Updated 29/04/2022 at 21:20 GMT

After dominating the opening session, Judd Trump came into Friday's third session with a commanding 11-5 lead over Mark Williams. But he came under pressure as the Welshman found his best form to get himself back into the match. Watch the World Championship and other top snooker live on Eurosport and discovery+.

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Mark Williams roared back at Judd Trump in the third session to cut the deficit in their World Championship semi-final to 13-11.

After Trump had blitzed Williams in the opening session, the pair split the second and the former held an 11-5 lead at the start of Friday evening.

Many in all probability had pencilled Trump’s name into the final after he won the opening frame of the season with a century, but Williams powered back in stunning fashion.

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He won five frames on the spin to cut the gap to two, and they split the final two frames to leave the match finely poised ahead of the final session on Saturday afternoon.

Williams came out with intent and was unfortunate to see a long red wriggle and stay in the jaws of the bottom left in the opener. Trump, as he had in the previous two sessions, punished in impressive fashion with a run of 120.

The lead was seven, but Williams roared back to take the second of the session with a 137 total clearance and took the 18th with runs of 58 and 53 to cut the gap to five.

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Williams' long game, so good in the early stages of the competition, deserted him in the first session against Trump.

But in the 18th frame, he proved it was back in good order as he knocked in a stunning long yellow to set him up to steal a frame he looked out of. Trump built a commanding lead but failed to shut it down and Williams chipped away to give himself hope on the colours.

A lax safety from Trump gave Williams a shot at the yellow, and it hit the back of the bottom right and the cue ball fizzed round the table off four cushions to settle on the green. He knocked it in and a tough brown, before pocketing the blue and pink to win his first mini-session of the match and cut the gap to four.

Williams had plenty of support inside the Crucible, and for the first time they could sense a shift in momentum.

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The Welshman knocked in another good red to get in upon the resumption, and it helped him secure a big enough advantage to take the frame and cut the gap to three for the first time since the first session.

A clinic in long potting was how it felt, as Williams produced a stunner in the 22nd. He had a few looks, clearly unsure if it went, but it found the bottom right and he ambled round the table in a break of 77 to cut the gap to two.

Trump had to sit in his chair and watch blows rain down on him, but he emerged with a clear head when an unexpected chance came his way in the 23rd after Williams potted a brilliant red but was unfortunate to be trapped next to the yellow and called a foul on himself. Trump got in and showed his game was still razor sharp as he crafted a break of 113 to open up a three-frame lead.

It was appropriate the final frame saw a couple of stunning long pots from Williams and although he did not kill it off at one visit, the Welshman kept Trump at arm’s length to move within two at 13-11 in the race to 17.