World Championship: Judd Trump gatecrashes ‘Class of 92’ reunion

The 32-year-old has gone under the radar to reach the Crucible semi-finals, such has been the form of veterans Mark Williams, Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins.

The trio – celebrating 30 years since turning professional in 1992 – are in the semi-finals in Sheffield for the first time since 1999.

Trump Tweeted before his match with 47-year-old Williams that he was “stuck in the middle of a world seniors championship”.

But it was Trump, the 2019 world champion, who carried on his rich seam of form – winning 15 of his last 16 frames in Sheffield – to lead the Welshman 7-1 in their best-of-33 contest.

Left-hander Trump won eight successive frames to beat Stuart Bingham in his quarter-final match, turning an 8-5 deficit into a 13-8 win.

And in Thursday’s opening session of their three-day semi-final, the world No 4 dominated once more against the three-time Crucible champion.

“Sorry about the performance” said Williams on Twitter afterwards. “Very hard conditions for me I’m afraid. If we carried on there it would be 17-1 easily”.

Maybe it was a hangover to the drama created in the quarter-finals – Williams edging out Yan Bingtao 13-11 – but it was a scrappy opening session.

Neither player could conjure up a century, but Trump was on top as breaks of 70, 70, 54, 62 and 53 saw him take control, with the pair set to resume on Friday morning.

Williams briefly stemmed the flow, taking the fourth frame of the afternoon, but it was only token resistance.

Unlike previous years, few pundits were talking about Trump as a potential champion come Monday.

But he has played his way into form in Sheffield, after beating Hossein Vafaei 10-4, Anthony McGill 13-11 and then Bingham 13-8.

“I knew I wasn’t one of the favourites coming in because I wasn’t playing well,” admitted Trump after his victory over Bingham.

“I have enjoyed the challenge more than I have in the last couple of years.

“I have got through the rounds quietly, without playing my best. I am playing with freedom and a smile on my face.

“It’s probably the most excited I have been for a while, to be down to the one table.”

The second semi-final started in similar fashion to the first, only this time it was O’Sullivan who won frame four to head into his mid-session interval trailing Higgins 3-1.

Six-time champion O’Sullivan struggled for his normal fluency – as Higgins knocked in breaks of 50 and 58 – before finally getting on the scoreboard with a 70 break.

It sparked O’Sullivan into life, as breaks of 54, 116 and 107 – the 91st century of the tournament – levelled the match at 4-4, the match resuming on Friday afternoon.

The BBC will screen snooker’s Triple Crown events – the World Championship, UK Championship in York and the Masters – for another five years.

The current agreement originally ran until the end of the 2023/24 season but has been extended by a further three years.

WST chairman Steve Dawson said: “Extending this partnership demonstrates what a successful relationship we have built with the BBC over a period of more than 50 years.

“Snooker belongs on the BBC and it’s important for our sport to be seen by a massive audience throughout the UK.”