Judd Trump was Involved in a Bizarre Mix-up that Halted His Clash with John Higgins at Wuhan Open

2024-10-09 9

Judd Trump was involved in a bizarre mix-up that halted his clash with John Higgins at the Wuhan Open.

The World No 1 had taken a 3-1 lead over Higgins in their last 16 clash before returning to the table following a mid-session break.

However, as he prepared to break off, Trump realized quickly realized something was amiss as he told the match referee: 'This isn't my cue.'

After initially being told to continue and make the change during a time-out, Trump briefly returned to his seat before getting up to explain what had happened to Higgins while his cue was swiftly retrieved from backstage and brought out to the table.

'My cue was in the case, but Ben (Woollaston) put his cue next to my case,' Trump said to Higgins as he made the change.

Judd Trump was involved in a hilarious mix-up while facing John Higgins at the Wuhan Open.

Both players saw the funny side as TV cameras captured the pair sharing a laugh as the mishap unfolded.

The incident did not put Trump off his stride as he broke 56 to open up a 4-1 lead, having earlier recovered from losing the opening frame.

Higgins then crafted a fine clearance of 126, his 1,005th career century, to stay in touch, but it was only delaying the inevitable as Trump sealed the victory by taking the next frame 67-0 to reach a 14th consecutive quarter-final this year.

Reflecting on the bizarre incident after his win, Trump said in an interview with the World Snooker Tour: 'I have never done that before. It was a bit of a shock.

'It wasn't until I got to the table that I noticed. I was going to break off and the cue felt strange, so I looked down and it wasn't my cue.

'Luckily for me, John was very nice about it and he just told me to wait as long as possible.

'I think it has happened before and someone got awarded the frame, but John was nice enough just to allow me enough time to get my cue back.'

Jack Lisowski earlier swept past China's Wu Yize 5-0, making a half-century break in each of the first four frames and then finishing with a run of 117 to coast into the quarter-finals.

Shaun Murphy edged out Ali Carter in a last-frame decider.

Both players produced centuries either side of the interval in a high-quality contest, which Murphy secured with a 68 break in the ninth frame to win 5-4.

There was also success for China's Long Zehuang, who battled past Woollaston 5-3, a break of 76 securing a hard-earned victory to set up a quarter-final against Lisowski.