Snooker World Grand Prix 2016: Thursday Results, Updated Draw and Reaction

World champion Stuart Bingham knocked out defending champion Judd Trump during Thursday's Snooker World Grand Prix action, beating the Ace in the Pack 4-2.

The two served up a highly entertaining match, but Bingham proved to be the better safety player, keeping his composure in the close battles.

Elsewhere, Ding Junhui cruised past Peter Ebdon, and Shaun Murphy beat Martin Gould 4-2.

Here's a look at Thursday's results:  

John Higgins MBE	3-4	Ryan Day
Judd Trump	2-4	Stuart Bingham
Tom Ford	0-4	Ali Carter
Joe Perry	4-1	Kyren Wilson
Martin Gould	2-4	Shaun Murphy
Michael Holt	2-4	Liang Wenbo
Mark Allen	2-4	Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ding Junhui	4-0	Peter Ebdon

The schedule for the quarter-finals:

Ryan Day	vs.	Stuart Bingham
Ali Carter	vs.	Joe Perry
Liang Wenbo	vs.	Shaun Murphy
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh	vs.	Ding Junhui

For the full tournament bracket visit the World Snooker website.

Recap

Bingham has been steadily improving his form with the World Championship on the horizon, and he looked close to his best in the win over Trump. His long potting in particular stood out, while Ball-run also played remarkably well in the safety game.

He took plenty of risks as well, including on his final pot, where he sank this blue off multiple cushions to secure the win, via World Snooker:

Trumped landed 48 in the opening frame but missed a black off the spot to allow Bingham to steal the frame, setting the tone for an extraordinary afternoon. The more experienced Bingham punished Trump for every mistake he made, and Juddernaut made plenty.

An 85 clearance to level the score was impressive, but Bingham restored his advantage with runs of 57, 69 and 72. And while he made some mistakes to give up the fifth frame, Bingham regained his composure in the sixth to win on the blue, as shown above.

Per Matt of Pro Snooker Blog, it was a big win for the world champion:

Bingham hasn't been at his best since emerging from the Crucible victorious, and with Ronnie O'Sullivan playing carefree snooker and the likes of Mark Selby and Neil Robertson all in solid form, a successful title defence won't be easy.

His opponent on Friday will be Ryan Day, who knocked out four-time world champion John Higgins in Round 2. Higgins recorded two centuries and forced a decider, which came down to the final black.

Day finished the clearance, and per BBC Sport, he loved being part of such an odd match: "It was a bit of an awkward clearance, which I managed to hold myself together and make it through. It was an enjoyable match to be involved in and one I'm pleased to win." 

Here's a look at the final frame, which will go down as one of the most exciting of the 2016 season:

Murphy and Gould produced an incredible high-quality match during the evening session, with the favourite eventually advancing to the next round after a 4-2 win.

Per World Snooker, the two players combined for some incredible potting numbers:

Murphy's potting has been sensational so far during the tournament, and he'll be one to watch during the latter stages.

Ding easily whitewashed Ebdon, and Ali Carter found similar success against Tom Ford.

Follow @ReverschPass