Judd Trump defeated John Higgins in a final-frame decider to reach the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in York.
Trump, who beat Neil Robertson 6-3 in the first round, is currently world No 1 after winning a remarkable seven tournaments in the past 15 months but is keen to add more major titles to his CV as he tries to win the UK Championship at the Barbican Centre for just the second time, after his 2011 success.
And he continued his excellent record against the veteran Scot, with 11 wins now from their last 12 matches. Trump kept his nerve in the tense final-frame decider, capping his victory with a century-break to reach the quarter-finals with a 6-5 victory.
Follow all the action from the last-16 clash in our blog below:
UK Snooker Championship - Judd Trump v John Higgins live updates
- World No 1 Judd Trump defeats four-time world champion John Higgins
- Trump edged tense final-frame decider to reach semi-finals (6-5)
- Trump to play Zhang Anda after win over Stuart Bingham in other match
Judd Trump wins final-frame decider to progress past John Higgins
19:04 , Harry Latham-CoyleWorld No 1 Judd Trump dug in to see off John Higgins in a last-frame decider and book his place in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, while Zhang Anda made a superb fightback to beat Stuart Bingham.
Judd Trump sees off John Higgins in UK Championship final-frame decider
Zhang Anda 6-5 Stuart Bingham
18:09 , Jamie BraidwoodIn the other final-frame decider, Zhang Anda beats Stuart Bingham to set up a quarter-final with Judd Trump.
Judd Trump 6-5 John Higgins
17:54 , Jamie BraidwoodJudd Trump is heading into the UK Championship quarter-finals! He edges a tense final-frame decider to beat John Higgins 6-5.
He found a way, before he finishes in style with a century break.
Trump 106 -34 Higgins
Judd Trump 5-5 John Higgins
17:51 , Jamie BraidwoodTrump is level with Higgins already - at one point 34 behind, he is on the charge now towards the semi-finals.
Trump 34-34 Higgins
Judd Trump 5-5 John Higgins
17:48 , Jamie BraidwoodAfter seven minutes, Higgins gets the cue ball away from the pack of reds but leaves a window open for Trump. He makes the pot towards the left-middle pocket and is back up and running.
Trump 1-34 Higgins
Judd Trump 5-5 John Higgins
17:43 , Jamie BraidwoodA comical moment as Trump barely touches the white forward an inch - conceding the foul and four points. Higgins moves it back. Playing for the re-rack?
Trump 0-34 Higgins
Judd Trump 5-5 John Higgins
17:38 , Jamie BraidwoodHiggins will have the first opportunity - Trump looked for the defensive shot but left Higgins with a look and he takes it.
But the reds end up tightly packed and Higgins can’t break them apart. 30 from the Scot. Trump to resume with reds still packed.
Trump 0-30 Higgins
Judd Trump 5-5 John Higgins
17:32 , Jamie BraidwoodHiggins forces the decider after Trump turned down that middle-red. A couple of fortunate breaks to get off and running, but Higgins makes 66 to force the final frame.
5-5 with a place in the quarter-finals up for grabs.
Judd Trump 5-4 John Higgins
17:22 , Jamie BraidwoodHiggins misses on the blue and rolls in the red by mistake. Trump takes his time before deciding to not take on the shot of the red towards the middle pocket.
Trump 11-7 Higgins
Judd Trump 5-4 John Higgins
17:15 , Jamie BraidwoodThat’s a brilliant break of 75 from Judd Trump. It takes him to the brink of victory at 5-4. It was looking good for Higgins, but his run ended on 23 after poor placement on the blue and Trump took over. He didn’t look back.
Meanwhile, Zhang Anda has come from 5-1 down to force the decider against Stuart Bingham. He has produced a century to force the deciding frame.
Judd Trump 4-4 John Higgins
17:07 , Lawrence OstlereHiggins wins the safety exchange with a beautiful long red into the right corner, playing the cue ball from close to the baulk cushion. A chance, this, for the Scot to score heavily, with the reds nicely spread... but a poor positional shot leaves him too close to the blue to pot and kills the break before it ever gets going.
Judd Trump 4-4 John Higgins
17:04 , Lawrence OstlereTrump takes on a tricky red to the right middle and it bounces off the inside jaw and up the table. He would have expected to make it, and now Higgins has a good chance to score – but he gets a cannon into the reds wrong, clipping the pink first, and the break is soon over. He plays safe and leaves Trump in baulk.
Higgins leads 17-1.
FRAME TRUMP! Judd Trump 4-4 John Higgins
16:53 , Lawrence OstlereAfter a missed tricky red by Higgins, Trump knocks it in and builds a wonderful 69 break with some tough reds potted along the way. Higgins comes back to the table for a brief safety exchange before Trump wraps up the frame.
All square at the interval.
Judd Trump 3-4 John Higgins
16:40 , Lawrence OstlereA magnificent century by Higgins! It could have been 130 but for a missed yellow with the rest. Higgins won’t care though – for the first time since frame two, he leads the match.
Judd Trump 3-3 John Higgins
16:33 , Lawrence OstlereTrump takes on a long red at the start of frame seven and misses by a country mile, so much so that he leaves the white at the top of the table for Higgins to tap in a loose red. The Scot is quickly racking up another useful score...
FRAME HIGGINS! Judd Trump 3-3 John Higgins
16:27 , Lawrence OstlereHiggins pots another brilliant long red, and that will be that. Trump was punished by a freak in-off in the middle of the frame, but he was also punished by a flawless Higgins in the aftermath.
Judd Trump 3-2 John Higgins
16:22 , Lawrence OstlereHiggins racks up a break of 58 to lead 62-38, and plays safe on the last red. Trump comes back to the table with a crucial safety battle on his hands.
Judd Trump 3-2 John Higgins
16:18 , Lawrence OstlereTrump is in position for a frame-winning break but it ends in brutally unfortunate circumstances, after potting a red, when the cue ball flicks off the green and rolls into the right middle pocket. He looks a bit shell-shocked by that.
Higgins steps up to the table and pots a beautifully struck long red to get on the board. He trails 38-12 with plenty of reds left to go at.
Judd Trump 3-2 John Higgins
16:12 , Lawrence OstlereFrame six begins with John Higgins taking on a long red and missing, leaving Trump an easy red and the chance to get motoring once more.
FRAME TRUMP! Judd Trump 3-2 John Higgins
16:08 , Luke BakerTidy so far from Trump, which most of the play today hasn’t been. In his first-round amtch with Neil Robertson, he stepped it up after the mid-session interval - maybe the same again?
He cruises past 50 and is well on his way to winning this frame. And there it is, he moves beyond the snookers required stage and this has been very impressive.
He goes on to make the century, completing a total clearance of 111 and leads 3-2.
Judd Trump 2-2 John Higgins
16:02 , Luke BakerThat sums up this match, really. Higgins misses a red to right middle with the score on just 19. A real missed opportunity.
Trump’s chance now as he strokes in a mid-range red to get things started. He brings a few reds into the open as he pots the first black - nice shot. He quickly surpasses Higgins’s score and this is a very good chance for the world No 1.
Judd Trump 2-2 John Higgins
16:00 , Luke BakerWe’re back after the mid-session interval and underway in frame five. Higgins in first and for once, the reds are nicely clustered in the centre of the table, potentially allowing him to build a decent break. The current highest form either man today is 39.
FRAME HIGGINS! Judd Trump 2-2 John Higgins
15:39 , Luke BakerHiggins leaves himself a chance at the final red down the left cushion. A smelly shot though... But he’s got it! Rattles both jaws and goes in - gutsy, gutsy pot that.
Surely there are no issues clearing up the colours? They are all pretty well located. And indeed, the four-time world champion makes no mistake!
A break of 40 to clear the table and John Higgins wins frame four to ensure we’re all square at 2-2 at the mid-session interval!
Judd Trump 2-1 John Higgins
15:36 , Luke BakerTrump back in and he’ll want to finish the frame off at this visit. Tidies up the reds in the middle of the table and he just needs one of the two tricky reds, currently on cushions, to move to a snookers required stage.
But he’s missed the brown, focussing too much on position for the final red. Trump 52-27 ahead but Higgins still in this frame.
Judd Trump 2-1 John Higgins
15:31 , Luke BakerTrump working mostly with the pink but once he passes 20, he opts to get the black off the bottom cushion with a pot to the right corner. He immediately runs out of positoon though and is left with a tough cut ona red along the bottom cushion - good pot! Although the cue ball runs up to the baulk end of the table.
And the break comes to an end on 30 when the white runs loose and there’s no pot on a red available. Five reds left, all near either side cushion, and Trump leads 38-27.
Judd Trump 2-1 John Higgins
15:28 , Luke BakerNot a huge surprise, Higgins breaks down once he reaches 27 as he misses a black to the right corner. Trump right in among the balls and there’s plenty of points waiting for him here. He can really put his stamp on the match with a big contribution here. 34 is currently the high breka by either player in this match.
Judd Trump 2-1 John Higgins
15:25 , Luke BakerHiggins gets in first in frame four. The reds are spread at the business end of the table but a lot of them are blocking each other, meaning it’s not the easiest situation to make a big break.
Neither player has managed to really string together three or four good positioonal shots in a row in this match. Higgins’s break moves to 20 but he finds himself having to pull out increasingly tricky pots. He’s still going with this break for the time being though.
FRAME TRUMP! Judd Trump 2-1 John Higgins
15:15 , Luke BakerHiggins pulls out a pot on the brown and then the blue. Just pink and black to win the frame but he misses the pink! It’s not an easy pot, with the rest but he leaves the ball in the jaws and it’s simple for Trump.
Judd Trump wins another 40-minute frame to lead 2-1. A lot of work done by Higgins there for no reward.
Judd Trump 1-1 John Higgins
15:08 , Luke BakerTrump wins the safety battle on the green and makes the pot, so extends his lead to 48-40. He then leaves Higgins in trouble, snookered behind the blue on the bottom left cushion, needing to play the brown ont he top cushion.
First attempt misses, four points to Trump, but he hits it on the second attempt and gets it safe. The world No 1 is now 12 points ahead with 22 remaining.
The average frame time is 38 minutes - not what you might expect from these two. If the match continues at this pace and it’s goes down to the wire, we won’t get this finished before the evening session and the players will have to return later this evening.
Judd Trump 1-1 John Higgins
15:01 , Luke BakerA couple of nice pots by Higgins as another frame looks to be coming down to the wire but he misses a very pottable blue to the right corner with his lead at 40-35 and he’s left the last red waiting for Trump!
Not an easy table of colours but Judd will fancy his chances of clearing from here. He’ll need to pot up to and including the blue but his cannon on the green goes wrong, so the break ends with Trump leading 45-40. Higgins will need all the remaining colours, Trump just green, brown and blue.
Judd Trump 1-1 John Higgins
14:55 , Luke BakerThe pot of the match so far from Trump as, with the white ball tight to the top cushion, he beautifully powers a red into the bottom right corner from the centre of the table. Stunning! It gives him a great chance to make a decent break here as well, with four reds out in the open and only two potentially tied up on the bottom cushion.
He can get himself right back in the frame. He tries to dislodge the top of those two reds but doesn’t land nicely on one for his next shot. So the break ends at 35 and he trails by three points with three reds still left on the table.
Judd Trump 1-1 John Higgins
14:48 , Luke BakerLovely cueing form Higgins to pot a red up into the green pocket. Can that spark him to a sizeable break? Not really - he runs out of position once he reaches 20 so Trump comes back to the table trailing 38-1.
Judd Trump 1-1 John Higgins
14:44 , Luke BakerTwo long frames to begin this last-16 clash and we’ve been playing for well over an hour now. Will either man be able to get more rhythm going in frame three?
First chance to Higgins who is left with an easy starter red but soon breaks down after making just 12. Trump can’t capitalise as he tries to pot a red with the rest but it rattles the jaws.
Higgins back in among the balls but soon misses a red along the cushion. Just an 18-point lead but Trump again doesn’t punish the Scot as he misses a green after potting a solitary red. The standard has not been the best from these two legends of the game so far today.
FRAME TRUMP! Judd Trump 1-1 John Higgins
14:32 , Luke BakerWow! What has Higgins done there? Tries to play a very thin snick on the pink but fails to make contact. Six penalty points to Trump, which means he’s now 13 points ahead with 13 remaining, so Higgins can only tie and force the respot.
But Trump doesn’t need one! He pulls out a long pot on the pink into the yellow pocket and Judd Trump nicks frame two to level at 1-1! This is nerve-jangling stuff so far.
Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
14:30 , Luke BakerWhen Higgins misses, Trump pumps the yellow into the top left pocket and then cuts the green into the opposite corner. The frame is there for the taking now, although the blue is a bit tricky, near the right side cushion.
Decent position for Trump, lines it up, and if it goes in he’s won the frame... Then decides on the safety instead! Didn’t fancy the pot but that’s a real surprise and Stephen Hendry is very critical in commentary. Trump leads by 12 points with the final three colours left.
It’s not a great safety though and Higgins can cut this into the corner. HE’S GOT IT! Great pot and the white ball comes round the angles to land nicely on the pink. But it’s tough pot with the rest and Higgins rattles the jaws! 48-41 to Trump, with just pink and black left - a safety battle upcoming.
Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
14:25 , Luke BakerTrump pots the penultimate red, adds a black and now leads by two points, so it’s a battle on the final red. And Trump wins that battle with a lovely pot to the left corner from long range. But not good position on a colour to follow.
There’s a tempting brown to right middle for the world No 1 but he trusn it down and gets in behind the pink to snooker Higgins on the yellow instead. 39-36 to Trump with just the six colours left on the table.
Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
14:17 , Luke BakerNice shot by Higgins to pot the blue and cannon two reds off the left side cushion. One has run towards another red on the bottom cushion but the other is pottable into the left corner.
However, he’s stretching for the black that follows and hits cushion first, missing the pot. Higgins leads 36-30 with two reds left. Whoever wins this safety battle will be in a good position to win the frame.
Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
14:13 , Luke BakerTrump taking his time around the table but but pulls out some nice pots and quickly approaches Higgins’s total. A tricky red across the table to the right middle and it clips the bottom jaw before bouncing away.
Trump leads 30-25 but makes a mess of a safety shot soon after and Higgins is now back in witha scoring chance, trailing by five points with a handful of reds left.
Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
14:09 , Luke BakerOoh, an unepected miss from Higgins as the black stays out. His lead is 25 points but Trump strides out of his chair, knocks in the opening red and gets to work
Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
14:07 , Luke BakerJohn Higgins making all the running in this match so far. Pulls out another superb long pot, to the left corner, and gets the white ball back up to baulk. He adds a tricky green and he’ll look to build his lead here. A few of the reds are pretty accessible but it’s not that appetising a table.
Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
14:04 , Luke BakerGood, straight cueing form Higgins as he powers a mid-range red into the heart of the corner pocket. Not a jot of head movement on that shot. He really looks up for this today.
The reds are spread but shifting the cue ballthrough the gaps won’t be easy. Higgins adds a first black, then another red and he’s slowly getting into this break. But the colours aren’t well-positioned, so he plays safe with a lead of just nine.
FRAME HIGGINS! Judd Trump 0-1 John Higgins
13:57 , Luke BakerHiggins lands decently ont he fianl black but still a tricky pot along the bottom cushion. This to pinch the frame...
Plays it slowly and it drops! A superb clearance by the veteran Scot to win frame one in just over 40 minutes! You don’t mind the long frames if you win them. Higgins leads 1-0.
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:55 , Luke BakerClever shot from the final red to flick the pink away from the black. Higgins gets on to the colours trailing by 23 points with 27 remaining. He’ll need them all to steal this frame...
The green is the problem ball, tight to the top cushion. Great pot by Higgins! Rolling it in along the rail and getting on the brown. The black on the middle of the bottom cushion will be the only issue from here.
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:53 , Luke BakerA decent snooker from Higgins earns hima few penalty points that could be handy in the final reckoning - it just gives hima bit more breathing room in terms of the colours he can take with the final two reds.
The gap is narrowed to 55-22 before Higgins pulls out a lovely long pot on a read in the centre of the table to the left corner. His long game has been on point so far today. It’s not an easy table but can we get a classic Higgins counter-clearance to nick this frame?
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:45 , Luke BakerStunning long red cut into the left corner by Trump. Exquisite cueing. Adds the blue that has run up to baulk and he’s edging closer towards the winnning line. But he tries to drop a red in dead-weight and it hangs over the pocket! At 55-14 down, can Higgins put some pressure on the world No 1?
Just the one point before he plays safe - still 40 points down with 43 on.
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:41 , Luke BakerTrump back in with a nice long-ish red and then plays a clever cannon to remove another red from the side cushion. He’s extending his lead, although the four reds near the bottom cushion may stop him winning the frame at this visit.
Another cannon frees one of those but a positional shot round the angles after potting the black leaves him with no pots. A break of 25 and Trump’s extended his lead to 49-14 - an advantage of 35 with 59 points still available.
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:36 , Luke BakerTrump makes 24 before running out of position and having to play safe. We’ve been going 20 minutes in this opening frame and it has been a war of attrition. Trump leads 24-14 with most of the reds clustered in the centre of the bottom cushion. This could take some sorting out.
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:32 , Luke BakerAnother chance for Trump after Higgins sees a red career up to the baulk end of the table and leave a pot on but Judd misses yet again as the red rattles the jaws and stays out. The world No 1 really hasn’t settled yet and he hasn’t potted a single ball.
Now Higgins is struggling though, as a cutback to the green pocket misses by a long way! Another bout of safety ensues beofre Trump is left a mid-range pot and finally gets his first point on the board. A chance to score here.
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:22 , Luke BakerThe break ends at 14 as Higgins runs out of position. An attempted plant by Trump then rattles in the jaws and stays out before a long pot to the left corner does likewise.
Judd Trump 0-0 John Higgins
13:17 , Luke BakerJohn Higgins breaks off and it’s the Scot who earns a first look at a long red. Smooth cueing, into the heart of the right corner pocket. The white lands a bit awkwardly on the central pack of reds so he has to get the spider rest out to bridge over the cluster and try to pot the black.
Nice shot. He then crunches a long red up into the yellow pocket - this is a promising start by Higgins. The break is now nine points and counting
UK Championship snooker - Trump v Higgins
13:11 , Luke BakerMC Rob Walker is just introducing the players now, so we’ll be underway shortly. Let’s get the boys on the baize!
UK Championship snooker - Trump v Higgins head to head
12:59 , Luke BakerNot long until the players head into the arena for this afternoon’s last-16 clash, so let’s take a look at the head to head record between Judd Trump and John Higgins.
In the all-time category, it’s pretty close with Trump leading Higgins 18-15 (excluding Championship League matches) but it’s a different story in recent times. Starting with their meeting in the 2019 World Championship final, which Trump won 18-9, the Englishman has won 10 of the last 11 matches between the pair.
Higgins’s 5-4 successs in the quarter-final of the 2022 Hong Kong Masters is the lone exception but the world No 1 has simply dominated this match-up and already has victories at the German Masters and Wuhan Open over the Scot this calendar year. Higgins will need to find a way to slow his foe down in York
Fist-pumping Shaun Murphy battles past Ding Junhui in final-frame decider
12:48 , Luke BakerShaun Murphy held his nerve to win a second consecutive final-frame decider and book his place in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship in York.
Former world champion Murphy led 5-3 against three-time winner Ding Junhui but was hauled back to level before he seized his first chance to fashion a 6-5 win.
Murphy punched the air after the dramatic finale to an error-strewn affair and admitted afterwards that he felt fortunate to make it through.
“I feel a bit silly with that celebration at the end but it’s just emotional, it just comes out,” Murphy told the BBC. “I couldn’t have given any more but if you make those mistakes you really don’t deserve to win the game.”
Zhang Anda makes 147 amid table criticisim
12:38 , Luke BakerZhang Anda made a mockery of criticism of the table conditions at the UK Championship in York by rifling his third career 147 break in the fourth frame of his first round match against Lei Peifan.
The world number 11 had previously made maximums in the final of last year’s International Championship, and in qualifying for the European Masters in 2022.
And it guarantees the Chinese player at least a share of the tournament’s £15,000 highest break prize, eclipsing the 146 achieved by compatriot Zhao Xintong in the qualifying rounds.
Zhang’s display came a matter of hours after Judd Trump and Neil Robertson slammed playing conditions at the Barbican Centre following Trump’s 6-3 win in their high-profile first round clash.
Zhang Anda finds York table to his liking with maximum break
Judd Trump criticises table conditions after first-round win
12:28 , Luke BakerJudd Trump criticised the table conditions despite reeling off five frames in a row to beat Neil Robertson 6-3 and seal his place in the last 16 of the UK Championship in York.
The world number one struggled desperately through the opening stages before belatedly finding his range with successive breaks of 73, 126 and 67 helping to keep alive his hopes of winning his first UK title since 2011.
Asked in his post-match interview if they were the worst conditions in which he had played, Trump said: “I’ve played in some bad conditions, but that was close.
“It’s disappointing as it seems to be the bigger events. It was very heavy all the time. I’ve always struggled here because the tables are so heavy.
“Hopefully they can change them. All the players have been struggling – hopefully they can do something about it.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan: ‘I wish I was more like Hendry and Davis’
12:18 , Luke BakerRonnie O’Sullivan’s most recent World Championship title, won so emotionally at the iconic Crucible Theatre in 2022, more or less ended the debate surrounding snooker’s greatest player of all time. By claiming the world title for a seventh time, O’Sullivan equalled Stephen Hendry’s modern-era record, having already surpassed the Scot for most ranking titles (currently 41 and counting) and becoming the first man to make 1,000 century breaks in professional competition.
Throw in a captivating, swashbuckling, seemingly effortless style of play that means The Rocket’s reputation as a sporting genius has long since transcended snooker’s narrow confines, and GOAT status is undisputed.
Yet as those who have followed his rollercoaster career, or watched his candid, raw 2023 documentary The Edge of Everything will be painfully aware, the almost endless trophies and triumphs haven’t always brought him happiness or satisfaction. Many a whitewash victory against an overmatched opponent has been followed by O’Sullivan slating his own performance for not quite reaching the impossibly perfect standards he demands of himself.
So perhaps it should come as no surprise that, in an exclusive interview with The Independent, he reveals that he yearns to be more like those who came before him.
Ronnie O’Sullivan: ‘I wish I was more like Hendry and Davis’
UK Championship - Trump v Higgins
12:08 , Luke BakerStanding in Trump’s way is Neil Robertson. The Scot has been similarly prolific throughout his career, racking up 31 ranking event titles to sit third on the all-time list behind only Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry (Trump is fourth).
The 49-year-old briefly dropped out of the world’s top 16 for the first time in 30 years earlier this season but has fought his way back in and will be hoping for a run in York.
Higgins is a four-time world champion and three-time UK champion, although it is now almost four years since he last won a ranking event by triumphing at the Players Championship in February 2021. He also has a surprisingly appalling recent record at the UK Championship, with three quarter-final losses in the past 14 years his best returns.
The Scot did impressively down talented youngster He Guoqiang 6-0 in the previous round and said he’s feeling more confident in his game than he has for a long time.
UK Championship - Trump v Higgins
11:58 , Luke BakerThis should be an absolute cracker this afternoon. In one corner, we have Judd Trump who has been snooker’s most consistent force over the past couple of seasons.
He’s currently world No 1, and hundreds of thousands of pounds ahead of his rivals on that list due to racking up seven tournament victories in the last 15 months.
Of course, the knock on Trump will always be that he doesn’t win enough of ‘the big ones’. He ‘only’ has four victories at snooker’s triple crown events (the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters) and he is trying to win the UK Champs here in York this week for just the second time, after his 2011 success.
He downed Neil Robertson 6-3 in the first round and will fancy his chances of reaching the quarter-finals given his stellar recent record agianst John Higgins
UK Championship snooker - Trump v Higgins
11:39 , Luke BakerWelcome to The Independent’s coverage of the UK Snooker Championship in York, where Judd Trump faces John Higgins in a tasty last-16 clash this afternoon.
Stick with us for all the action.
