Trump Makes 147 In Beating Tian
Judd Trump continued his red hot form, making the third 147 of his career in a 5-3 defeat of Tian Pengfei at the Bank of Beijing China Open.
It was the 130th official maximum in professional snooker and the Ace in the Pack stands to land a cool £30,000, which has been accumulated in the rolling prize fund since Tom Ford’s 147 at the German Masters in February.
The magical moment came in the fifth frame to hand Trump a 4-1 lead. With the final pink positioned at the top of the table, Trump landed low on the black to leave a tricky last pot. He nestled it in on the top jaw and punched the air with delight.
Tian then valiantly fought back with breaks of 60 and 63 to close the gap to one at 4-3. However, recent Players Champion Trump got over the line, compiling a run of 62 to secure the win.
“I’ve had a lot of good chances recently and it was nice to make a 147 on the TV table,” said Trump. “The next frame I potted a good ball to get in. I then split the pack well but unfortunately the red went in. I probably would have made another century if that didn’t happen, you need a bit of luck in those situations. After that he played well and things like that can change games, so I’m happy to get through.”
Mark Williams pulled off a magnificent fightback to come from 4-1 down and defeat John Higgins 5-4, keeping alive his hopes of qualifying directly for the Crucible. The Welshman needs to win the event this week to edge compatriot Ryan Day out of the world’s top 16.
It looked as if Williams would be heading for the exit when Higgins stole the fourth frame on the black to lead 4-1. However, the two-time World Champion won the sixth before making breaks of 66, 60 and 79 to edge out a 5-4 thriller.
His opponent in the last eight will be Shaun Murphy, who demolished Michael White 5-1. The Magician took under an hour and a half to record the quick-fire win.
Murphy, who has only dropped four frames this week in Beijing, continued his fine form by compiling runs of 50, 78, 71 and 67 during the comfortable victory.