Judd Trump 3 - 5 Stuart Bingham
Stuart Bingham continued to show that he is not just at Sheffield for a healthy payday, after a solid start to his semi-final at the World Snooker Championships. He leads Judd Trump 5-3 after yesterday's opening session. There seemed to be no hangover from his heroics against Ronnie O'Sullivan the evening before. Instead he seemed content in his surroundings, despite the attacking instincts of his opponent.
Bingham has had a wonderful season and currently ranks as the number 10 player in the world. British snooker fans have not seen the best of him on home shores though, as most of his success has been abroad.
Earlier in his career he was viewed as a bit of a 'journeyman', until his first title in 2011 in Australia. He rose to the lofty heights of world number 4 in 2014, claiming the Shanghai Masters in doing so. Beating O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals seems to have given him an extra spring in his step.
Trump is the heir apparent, apparently destined to become the champion with Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and of course, 'The Rocket' out of the way. Even 'greatness' struggles with illness though and the bout of flu that he has picked up probably didn't help yesterday.
Neither player displayed their top form in the early stages. They shared the opening four frames of competitive (if not sparkling) snooker 2-2.
Bingham found a marginally better rhythm, with breaks of 65 and 89. After Shaun Murphy's two centuries in the first semi-final though, the break building was slightly less fluent.
Frame five went to Bingham to give him the lead for the first time in the match. He soon extended his advantage to 4-2 by taking the next frame.
It was a tough one for Trump to lose, after a promising 56 break. A missed pot allowed his Essex rival in though and he replied in kind with a confident 74 points of his own.
Trump showed signs of the tremendous potting ability he possesses in frame seven. A series of tricky shots during his break of 75 proved no problem to the 25-year-old Bristolian, as he reduced his arrears to just one frame once more.
The gap was back to two again after the final frame of the session though, Bingham clinically knocking in a 76 break to establish a deserved first session lead.
It was interesting to see Trump bearing a Burger King badge on his waistcoat during the session. Each player is permitted to display their sponsor's logos on their person during their matches. Yet, fast food outlets and sporting activities are not always the most appropriate 'bed fellows'. Picking and choosing your backers perhaps isn't something that most snooker players can afford to do though.
