3 weeks ago
9
World fig 1 Judd Trump joked helium was checking for flights location earlier coming backmost from 4 frames down to bushed Wu Yize 5-4 and scope the past 16 of the inaugural Saudi Arabia Masters.
It looked similar China's Wu, 20, was going to extremity Trump's 28-match unbeaten tally successful best-of-11 matches, which stretched backmost to December 2022, arsenic helium went into the interval 4-0 up.
But Trump, 35, showed wherefore helium ranked apical of the heap arsenic helium re-emerged to triumph 5 frames successful a enactment and progress.
"I was looking astatine flights home!" Trump told Eurosport afterwards.
"I'm very, precise blessed with that. That was 1 of my champion wins successful the mode of digging successful and [having] aforesaid belief."
World fig 2 Mark Allen, however, exited the tourney arsenic helium mislaid 5-1 to Xiao Guodong of China.
It looked similar Allen would besides signifier a comeback aft falling down 2-0, erstwhile helium deed a period interruption (104) to instrumentality the 3rd frame, but Xiao won the adjacent 3 to progress.
There were besides defeats for Ali Carter and Barry Hawkins.
World fig 10 Carter was beaten 5-3 by chap Englishman Elliot Slessor, portion 16th-ranked Hawkins mislaid 5-1 to Scotland's Scott Donaldson.
The Saudi Arabia Masters, which has been fixed the unofficial rubric of being the sport's 'fourth major' by organisers, is the biggest ever staged extracurricular the UK.
With a £2.3m prize money and £500,000 winner's cheque, lone the World Championship successful Sheffield is comparable.
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