JUDD Trump advanced to the semi-finals of the 2022 Welsh Open with a 5-3 victory over Neil Robertson.
The Englishman will be hoping to go one better than 2017 when he lost to Stuart Bingham in the final.
Frame One
Trump took an early lead in the quarter-final clash, patiently accruing points without ever making a truly telling break.
Trump 73 – 10 Robertson
Frame Two
Robertson hit back immediately as he compiled a well-made break of 95 to level the tie after Trump erred positionally earlier in the frame.
Trump 36 – 103 Robertson
Frame Three
The Englishman took the lead early in the third frame, registering a break of 58 off the back of a foul from his opponent, however Robertson was unable to capitalise, rattling the black ball in the jaws of a pocket as the man from Bristol reclaimed the advantage in the match.
Trump 66 – 29 Robertson
Frame Four
Robertson responded strongly to start the fourth frame, opening up a lead of 32 points however a missed black would prove crucial, allowing Trump to compile a break of 60 and take a two-frame lead into the mid-session interval.
Trump 60 – 34 Robertson
Frame Five
‘The Juddernaut’ moved to within one frame of victory as he steadily accrued 71 points and left The Melbourne Machine with a mountain to climb if he was going to advance.
Trump 71 – 33 Robertson
Frame Six
For a while, the sixth frame looked like it would be the last of the afternoon as ‘The Ace in the Pack’ opened up a 56 point cushion, however he would leave Robertson with a glimmer of hope and the man from Melbourne capitalised, clearing the table to take the quarter-final to a seventh frame.
Trump 56 – 61 Robertson
Frame Seven
The Thunder from Down Under looked to have been rejuvenated as the match entered the seventh frame, potting ball after ball to reduce the deficit to just one once more.
Trump 1 – 52 Robertson
Frame Eight
With the momentum firmly in the corner of the Australian, Trump opened frame eight with a break of 31 but a sloppy red would threaten to derail him. Robertson responded with 23 points of his own however he couldn’t turn it into a decisive trip to the table.
Trump composed himself, returned to the table and picked off another 39 points to advance into the next round.
Trump 70 – 24 Robertson