Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump were eliminated from the World Snooker Championship on an unusual day in the quarter-finals at the Crucible.
The top two players had the potential to set up a delicious showdown for a spot in the final four, but they were eliminated by qualifiers Stuart Bingham and Jack Jones, respectively.
Bingham was in sensational form, bringing back memories of his 2015 world title. He has since lost his spot in the world top 16 and entered the tournament ranked 29th, but was upset as he pulled away from an increasingly agitated O’Sullivan. He took the final three frames to clinch a nerve-wracking 13-10 victory.
Combined with David Gilbert’s victory over Stephen Maguire, this marks the first time since the tournament was held at the Crucible in 1977 that three qualifiers have reached the semi-finals. Gilbert will face Kyren Wilson in the semifinals following the latter. World No. 12 – Defeated John Higgins 13-8.
Wednesday’s result means Mark Allen will become the new world number one at the start of next season. Despite losing to Higgins in the second round at the Crucible, the Northern Irishman has improved over the past two seasons, winning five ranking titles and taking points ahead of O’Sullivan and Trump in the 2022 World Final. It means that it exceeds.
Earlier, President Trump was punished for the error-filled play of world No. 44 Jones, who turned an 8-8 tie into a 13-9 victory overnight to advance to the last four for the first time.
President Trump made no excuses after being lured into a war of attrition by his opponent, who ranks second last among the countries that qualified for this year’s tournament.
“I felt like I had a lot of opportunities, but I didn’t take them,” Trump said. “I only have myself to blame because I had a good chance to win today.
“A lot of frames were very slow and I got stuck. His pace definitely affected me, but it’s not his fault. I could have just come in and put it away every time, but did not do it.”
Jones, who reached the Crucible quarter-finals on his debut last year, is just two wins away from becoming only the third qualifier to win the famous title, following Terry Griffiths in 1979 and Shaun Murphy in 2005.
The Welshman more than showed what he had in the first two sessions and capitalized on his opponent’s mistakes to take the lead on Wednesday’s restart.
Trump’s lackluster performance was neatly summed up outside the pink box in the 20th frame, when Jones posted an impressive break of 61 to leave the air between them at 11-9.
He missed another easy yellow in the next match and Jones was one frame away from winning, but when Trump went in and off for a red in the 22nd frame, Jones responded with a nervous 106 clear to finish.
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Jones, who had never advanced to a ranking semifinal before, maintained his pace of play and realized early in the match that Trump, the clear favorite who has won five ranking titles this season alone, was not feeling well. He said he noticed it.
“I think Judd struggled a lot,” Jones said. “He started with a century which looked like typical Judd, but after going 3-1 at the interval I thought he was playing really slow.
“He wasn’t the fast-flowing, aggressive player he usually is. I noticed that from the beginning and was surprised in a way, but I took advantage of it.”
Jones, who will face Bingham in the last four, faces an even bigger challenge in convincing her mother, Debbie, to watch her play live for the first time.
Jones has not yet seen her son play live or on TV, even though she has been taking him to games since he first turned pro at age 16. Ms Jones does not believe the unique opportunity of her Crucible semi-final will change her mind.
“She won’t even watch me on TV,” Jones said. “Now at her house, while I play, she does the ironing and cleans the house. That’s what she likes to occupy herself with.
“She hates looking at me and pretends nothing is going on and waits for my dad to call with the results. The semi-finals of the Crucible are obviously a different matter, although she’ll probably make an appearance. , she will not appear in the arena.”
Gilbert capped off a remarkable career resurgence with a 13-8 victory over Maguire, advancing to the semifinals for the first time since 2019.
