In the quarter-finals of the 24/25 Snooker Masters, a focus match took place between China's "Number One" snooker player and world number one Judd Trump. This match received high attention from many fans!
The importance of the Snooker Masters is self-evident, known as one of the "Three Major Tournaments" in the snooker field along with the World Championship and the UK Championship. This year's prize money has also been significantly increased, with a total prize fund exceeding £1 million and the champion's prize reaching £350,000, a direct increase of £100,000 compared to last year's champion prize of £250,000. Therefore, the competition for this year's Masters will undoubtedly be very fierce.
A total of three Chinese players were invited to participate in this Masters, namely Ding Junhui, Zhang Anda, and Si Jiahui. After the first round, Zhang Anda and Si Jiahui both lost their matches and were eliminated, with Zhang Anda losing 4-6 to Kyren Wilson and Si Jiahui losing 2-6 to Mark Allen. On the other hand, Ding Junhui achieved victory, defeating Mark Williams 6-5 in a thrilling match to advance to the quarter-finals!
Judd Trump defeated Barry Hawkins 6-1 in the first round and easily advanced to the quarter-finals. At this point, the two "80s Five Tigers," Judd Trump and Ding Junhui, faced each other directly. The two have met 20 times in official competitions before, with Ding Junhui having 9 wins and 11 losses, slightly at a disadvantage. In the last two encounters, Judd Trump won both matches, beating Ding Junhui 10-4 at the 2024 World Open and 4-0 at the Champion of Champions.
On the stage of the Masters, both Ding Junhui and Judd Trump have reached the final twice. Ding Junhui won the championship once, but it was back in 2011 when he defeated Fu Jiajun 10-4 to win his first Masters title.
Judd Trump reached the Masters final twice and won both times, defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-4 in 2019 to win the championship; in the 2023 Masters final, Judd Trump defeated Mark Williams 10-8 to claim the title.
It is worth noting that on the stage of the Masters, Ding Junhui holds two records: the first is maintaining the record for the youngest player to score a maximum 147, at the 2007 Masters, Ding Junhui, who was not yet 20 years old, scored the second maximum 147 in Masters history, thus creating the record for the youngest player to score a maximum 147 in the Masters, which remains unbroken to this day;
The second is at the 2024 Masters, where Ding Junhui scored another 147. There have been a total of 5 maximum 147s in Masters history, and Ding Junhui contributed 2 of them, currently ranking first.
It can be seen that Ding Junhui's overall performance on the stage of the Masters is still outstanding, and he is not afraid of Judd Trump at all. This match against Judd Trump will certainly be fiercely contested. Below are the detailed information about this match.
First Round
Judd Trump made a long shot first, but after scoring 6 points, the attack was interrupted. Judd Trump made a mistake in defense, giving Ding Junhui a good chance to start, and Ding Junhui scored 70 points in a single stroke, leading by 70-6 with 64 points, and there were still 5 red balls left on the table (a maximum of 67 points).
Judd Trump made a inexplicable defense, and Ding Junhui seized the opportunity to score 16 points in a single stroke, winning the first round 86-6, Ding Junhui 1-0 Judd Trump!
Second Round
Judd Trump made another mistake in defense, leaving a red ball at the bottom pocket, and Ding Junhui started with a single stroke of 74 points, not giving Judd Trump any chance to attack, winning the second round 74-0 again, Ding Junhui 2-0 Judd Trump!
Third Round
Ding Junhui missed a long-range shot, leaving Judd Trump an opportunity to attack, and Xiao Te scored 75 points in a single stroke, with 5 red balls left on the table (a maximum of 67 points), Ding Junhui would definitely not give up, starting with 8 points in a single stroke and then giving Judd Trump another chance, Xiao Te scored another 21 points in a single stroke, winning the third round 96-8, Judd Trump 1-2 Ding Junhui!
Fourth Round
After Ding Junhui opened the game, he left Judd Trump an opportunity for a long-range shot, although Xiao Te did not make it, but luck was amazing, another red ball went into the bottom pocket, but there was no chance for continuous attacks, so Judd Trump chose defense.
Later, Ding Junhui made another mistake in defense, and Judd Trump scored 48 points in a single stroke during the middle of the attack, leading 49-0, with 7 red balls left on the table (a maximum of 83 points), Ding Junhui made a strong clearance in a single stroke, scoring 72 points, reversing and winning the fourth round 72-49, Ding Junhui 3-1 Judd Trump!
Fifth Round
Judd Trump made a precise shot to get the chance to start, and directly scored 97 points in a single stroke, not giving Ding Junhui any chance, and then the cue ball fell into the pocket, otherwise there would be no problem in scoring over 100 points in a single stroke, winning the fifth round 97-4, Judd Trump 2-3 Ding Junhui!
Sixth Round
Judd Trump made a precise long-range shot to get the chance to start, but only scored 6 points in a single stroke before the attack was interrupted. Later, Ding Junhui made a perfect snooker, and Judd Trump made a mistake in solving the ball. Ding Junhui scored 35 points in a single stroke, and made a low-level mistake with the rack, handing the opportunity to Judd Trump.
Judd Trump scored 53 points in a single stroke, leading 59-35 by 24 points, with only one red ball left on the table (a maximum of 35 points), both sides entered the defensive mode, and Judd Trump used a snooker to let Ding Junhui be penalized 8 points, and then Judd Trump scored 28 points in a single stroke, winning the sixth round 95-35, Judd Trump 3-3 Ding Junhui!
Seventh Round
Ding Junhui failed to seek an offensive opportunity, leaving the opponent an opportunity to attack, and Judd Trump's state became better and better, scoring 125 points in a single stroke, and did not give Ding Junhui any more chances in this round, Judd Trump overtook Ding Junhui 4-3!
Eighth Round
Judd Trump used precise long-distance attacks to gain the opportunity to start again, but the attack was interrupted after scoring 17 points in a single stroke. Ding Junhui failed in a long-range attack, leaving the red ball at the pocket, and Judd Trump scored 62 points in a single stroke, winning the sixth round 79-0 again, Judd Trump 5-3 Ding Junhui, getting 2 match points.
Ninth Round
Ding Junhui chose to attack again under unfavorable circumstances, but failed and left the opponent an opportunity. Judd Trump made a combination shot to get the chance to start, and scored 75 points in a single stroke to complete the super points. Ding Junhui stood up and shook hands to concede defeat directly, and Judd Trump advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-5 victory over Ding Junhui!
Looking at this game as a whole, Ding Junhui was overtaken by Judd Trump with five consecutive victories after leading 3-1. Ding Junhui's loss was indeed unacceptable to many fans, especially in the last round, where Ding Junhui obviously lacked confidence. Facing the explosive state of Judd Trump, Ding Junhui seemed to have given up somewhat in the last two rounds. It can only be said that Judd Trump is indeed too strong.