UK Championship snooker LIVE: Score and updates as Judd Trump squares off with John Higgins
World No 1 Trump takes on four-time world champion Higgins with a place in the quarter-finals at the Barbican Centre in York on the line
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Your support makes all the difference.Judd Trump and John Higgins, two of snooker’s biggest stars, face off this afternoon in an intriguing last-16 clash at 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.
Higgins – who downed He Guoqiang 6-0 in the previous round – 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. The 49-year-old is one of the greatest snooker players of all time but has a surprisingly appalling recent record at the UK Championship, with three quarter-final losses in the past 14 years his best returns.
The 35-year-old Trump also has the veteran Scot’s number in their recent head-to-head match-ups, winning 10 of the last 11 matches between the pair – starting with an 18-9 victory in the 2019 World Championship final. But writing Higgins off is never a wise move.
Follow all the action from the last-16 clash in our blog below:
Judd Trump 1-1 John Higgins
The 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
Lovely 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
Two 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
Wow! 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
When 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
Trump 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
Nice 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
Trump 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
Ooh, 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
John 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.
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