World Snooker Championship 2016 Results: Revised Schedule After Thursday Scores
Judd Trump completed a fantastic comeback against Liang Wenbo to keep his Crucible dreams alive, beating the Chinese star 10-8 during Thursday's World Snooker Championship action in Sheffield, England, after trailing 6-3 entering the session.
Juddernaut played some fantastic snooker to win five frames in a row, and Wenbo would grab just a single frame the rest of the way.
Elsewhere, Marco Fu established a 5-3 lead over Anthony McGill in the first session of their second-round match.
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Kyren Wilson booked his spot in the next round with a 10-9 win over Joe Perry during the evening session, while Ali Carter opened up a 5-3 lead over Alan McManus.
Here’s a look at Thursday’s results and Friday’s schedule:
| Judd Trump | 10-8 | Liang Wenbo |
| Marco Fu | 5-3 | Anthony McGill |
| Joe Perry | 9-10 | Kyren Wilson |
| Ali Carter | 5-3 | Alan McManus |
| Mark Williams | vs. | Michael Holt |
| Anthony McGill | 3-5 | Marco Fu |
| Ali Carter | 5-3 | Alan McManus |
| Sam Baird | vs. | Mark Selby |
| Mark Williams | vs. | Michael Holt |
| Anthony McGill | 3-5 | Marko Fu |
Evening Recap
Wilson and Perry played out what was easily the best match of the first round so far, needing a decider to find a winner between the two. The first session between the duo had been very close, with the Warrior entering Thursday's action leading 5-4, and the rest of the match provided much of the same as we saw during the first session.
Perry opened with a break of 72 to tie things up, before Wilson answered with a marvelous break of 129. The two traded the next two frames as well, before a break of 80 saw Perry move ahead. But once again, his opponent hit back, and a break of 62 had Wilson on the verge of the next round.
The 18th frame proved to be one of the wackiest and most exciting frames we'll see at the Crucible this year. First, Wilson made this incredible pot, via World Snooker:
A few shots later, Perry played a nice shot with swerve to escape a snooker, accidentally potting the brown and leaving an almost impossible angle for his next shot:
Perry would eventually take the frame to set up the decider this match deserved, and in a scrappy affair, Wilson proved to be the better safety player, building toward a score of 77 to grab the win.
He received some high praise from Ronnie O'Sullivan for his efforts:
The win sees the 24-year-old advance to the second round of the World Championship for the first time in his career, and while he's not expected to go on a run in the tournament, fans will already be grateful for the fantastic show he put on with Perry.
Meanwhile, Carter grabbed a two-frame lead in his second-round clash with McManus. The Captain opened with a score of 81 and recorded a high break of 103 in what was ultimately a balanced session. Both players took their chances and spent long spells at the table, with just the single frame coming down to the colours.
They'll return for the second session of their match on Friday.
Afternoon Recap
Trump entered Thursday’s afternoon session in serious trouble against Wenbo, down 6-3 and playing some uncharacteristically sloppy snooker.
The Ace in the Pack appeared to be in good spirits, however, as evidenced by this Twitter post:
Wenbo took a scrappy first frame with a break of 59, before Trump kicked into gear. Juddernaut’s safety game looked on point, and after winning a few tactical frames, his confidence in his potting started to grow as well.
As shared by World Snooker, this long red is the type of shot we’ve come to expect from Trump:
The Ace in the Pack won five frames in a row, recording breaks of 106 and 69 to take an 8-7 lead and move within two frames of a spot in the second round. At one point, Wenbo didn’t pot a single ball for an hour, before finally stopping Trump’s run to tie things up at 8-8.
Here’s a look at that 106 break, via Snookerroomru:
Trump took the next frame with a break of 61, and a break of 55 in the final frame was enough to secure the win and a spot in the second round.
Per Live Snooker, Trump thought his fine safety play made the difference:
With a ton and six half-centuries, Trump showed exactly why he's considered among the favourites to win this year's title. The 26-year-old has found his best form in the last few weeks after a difficult start to the season, and while an 18-frame marathon isn't the best way to start a Crucible run, a come-from-behind win may offer him the momentum he needs to find success in the next round.
Fu and McGill served up some high-quality snooker in the other match of the afternoon session, as the two flashed some fantastic break-building ability and tactical awareness. Fu started things off with a break of 87 before McGill hit back with a break of 65 and a frame total of 121.
The opening frames were followed by a couple of close battles, in which the man from Hong Kong always seemed to have the upper hand, but a fine break of 52 from McGill kept things close. Fu would take two of the last three frames, despite a break of 54 from McGill in the last frame.
McGill was a surprising quarter-finalist in last year's World Championship, while Fu hasn't enjoyed a great 2015-16 campaign, making the quarter-finals of ranking tournaments just twice.
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