Shanghai Masters 2024 as it happened – Inspired Trump completes dominant win over O'Sullivan

It has been announced that six-time world champion Ray Reardon has died at the age of 91. The iconic Welshman won the world title in 1970, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1978. He was also a key asset in helping seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan’s safety game during his run to the 2004 World Championship in Sheffield.

Trump with a first win over O’Sullivan since the 2020 World Grand Prix semi-finals. And he does it in style.

36 to go with the earlier 26, and suddenly Judd is on the cusp of setting up the final showpiece with Shaun Murphy. In goes the frame-ball red followed by blue. Game, set and match to Trump. Ronnie comes forward to offer the handshake. A 10-3 win for Judd Trump, who equalled Murphy’s haul from the previous day in his 10-8 win over Mark Selby by knocking in four centuries of his own.

26 from Judd, but no more at this visit. Ronnie opts for a safety shot seconds later rather than attempt a tough red to left middle, but isn’t tight on top cushion and Judd bangs in red to yellow pocket. What a superb shot that is. Could be a frame and match-winner surely.

Pressure now surely off Judd as he slots a lovely long red down the table to the green bag. Excellent stuff. Ronnie looking a bit pensive in his chair. Has he played his final shot of this tournament? Could well have.

Well, a few nerves in the first couple of frames of the night, but Judd tucks away the black to reach 101, his fourth century of the match. Terrific scoring. Blue stays out, but 110 gets the job done every day of the week. That will settle down the Juddernaut.

Lovely plant on reds to right centre from Judd to keep the break going as he reaches 51. Not much more needed now to move six clear with a possible seven to play. Table is like an ice rink. But on Judd goes.

This is very nice from Trump to steady the ship after that missed blue late in the previous frame. Fine long red, and he is keeping tight control of that cueball. Would dearly love to get this match done and dusted before the mid-session interval.

Well, O’Sullivan not finalising the frame after Ronnie missed a red with the rest on his way to the frame. Break of 65. Trump then looked certain to pinch the frame, but he misses the final blue needing blue, pink and black. Ronnie slots blue and pink. Suddenly back to 8-3 behind. The crowd can’t believe that miss by Judd, and neither can Trump. Well now. 8-3 it is.

So this frame taking on the same look as the first frame of the evening session in Shanghai. Judd in first again here, but only reaching 36. Trump with chances to put this match to bed in the first two frames, but not taking them and Ronnie is motoring along nicely here as break reaches 51.

O’Sullivan is fighting the good fight then. Much to the appreciation of the large crowd inside the arena. Much more like it from him. Trump can’t cash in his chance and the Rocket returns with a lovely clearance of 71 to trail 8-2 in the race to 10. Still a mountain to climb, but at least he remains in the contest.

Boys back on the baize, and Ronnie is at the table here. Is he playing for pride? Or the greatest comeback story of his career? Suppose when you are so far back, it is all about one frame at a time. For Trump, that may only be two more today. Good thing about Ronnie is that he can score fast, and win frames very quickly when the mood takes him.

Judd Trump is close to ending a four-year losing streak against Ronnie O’Sullivan after building an 8-1 lead in the opening session of a one-sided Shanghai Masters semi-final.

Trump last celebrated a victory over O’Sullivan in the last four of the World Grand Prix in December 2020 when he completed a 6-1 win, but has lost their past five meetings in major events, including an 18-13 defeat in the 2022 World Championship final and final losses in the 2022 Champion of Champions (10-6) and 2024 World Grand Prix (10-7).

O’Sullvan is also 18-15 clear on the head-to-head meetings between the duo since they first met in the last 32 of the 2008 Welsh Open with the world No. 5 completing a 5-3 win.

Their previous meeting in the 2017 Shanghai Masters final saw O’Sullivan enjoy a dominant 10-3 success, the first of four straight triumphs and fifth overall trophy triumph in the Chinese city, but he needs to win nine frames of the remaining 10 to stay alive in this contest when they resume at 12:30pm UK time.

Trump produced breaks of 51, 106, 128, 127, 82, 71 and 91 to race away from O’Sullivan, who produced 95 to claim the third frame.

The winner will face Shaun Murphy in the best-of-21 frame final on Sunday after the 2005 world champion hit back from 8-5 down to complete a 10-8 win over Mark Selby.

“I’ve played Judd and Ronnie in big matches before,” said Murphy.

“I played Ronnie here a few years ago, so it would be great to go one better. I am looking forward to watching them slog it out until the wee small hours while I rest and look forward to what is going to be a great match.”

O’Sullivan needs a minor miracle from here, but we’ll be back to see if he can produce it in the final session from 12:30 BST.

Trump looks to rub salt in his opponent’s wounds as he cannons into the pack off a clinical red to the corner.

The balls are well spread and there’s a real opportunity to move within two frames of victory here.

He spies a red up to middle through the splintered pack and it’s copy and paste for the ensuing pink.

Red-black-red combos are polished off with real authority and a black to the right corner proves to be frame ball.

There’s no chance of Ronnie getting to fight for snookers either as Trump continues another ruthless run up to 91 where a foul on a Hollywood attempt at a very difficult final red stops him from notching up another century.

He won’t care though. It’s been one-way traffic and he’s two away from a place in the final.

Trump has been imperious but The Rocket has been well below any sort of standard he’d deem acceptable.

He’s got lofty standards and this will be very disappointing from his perspective.

He gets in with a super, long red but it all ends too abruptly again as he misses the black off its spot.

Ronnie will feel it’s all going against him while Judd can seemingly do no wrong.

Position goes awry up by the green but he’s able to rescue the situation, benefiting from a couple of ricochets to land perfectly on the black to the right corner. He gets a round of applause, but he didn’t mean it.

Not that he cares right now. He wants to put as much distance between himself and Ronnie as possible.

He does just that too; screwing back off the black to nail frame-ball with a red to the left corner.

With the pressure off he plays back up the table to land behind the final red down the right rail. It’s sublime positioning that leads to a delicate pot via the rest.

It proves to be the final act of the frame as he can’t pull off the spectacular long yellow, but still pockets the frame courtesy of a break of 71.

It’s a bit of a massacre so far; what can Ronnie do to try and reel his on-fire opponent back in?

Ronnie tries to get something going and a couple of super pots suggest a gear is clicking into place, but then he misses a make-able red up to middle right.

Trump knocks in a solitary red and then lays the snooker tight behind the green.

Ronnie’s escape goes pear-shaped and he leaves the cue ball amidst a split pack to gift-wrap a massive chance for his opponent.

Judd clocks up a score of three and then retreats tight to the baulk cushion with most of the pack still firmly intact.

O’Sullivan comes off the upper right cushion but contrives to hit the pink instead of the pack! It’s just not happening for him so far…

Ronnie has not had a sniff for quite some time but he is given a sighter right at the start of Frame 8 and responds with an excellent long pot to the left corner.

The yellow follows but there’s a gasp of dismay seconds later as he fluffs the next red. The crowd want to see him in action but he’s barely been involved so far today.

His misery is further compounded when a tame miss offers up the foul and, mote importantly, the initiative.

It’s relentless right now.

The Juddernaut is living up to that particular nickname – he’s got a few – as he makes another ominous start.

Awkward cueing off the right cushion is no problem as he slips in the blue to middle left and falls back perfectly on a red to the right corner.

He even comes up trumps (ahem) when the cue ball finishes tight to the pack, managing to steer over the top of the reds and spear one to the right corner.

Position isn’t perfect by any means throughout this run, but he keeps producing when it matters. Indeed, a beauty of a fine cut after finishing too high on the black is a case in point and he’s at it again with a blue up to the yellow pocket to leave Ronnie rooted to his chair once more.

The next red down to the right corner is frame ball and the 2019 World Champion is back hunting centuries again.

Sadly, it doesn’t transpire on this occasion but a super break of 82 is more than enough to extend his advantage.

It’s a very cagey spell as both players respond cautiously to what is a frugal table.

It’s so underwhelming to begin with that a re-rack seems inevitable, but they eventually – and rather thankfully – play away from a game of touch-ball where the cue ball was buried in the pack.

O’Sullivan knows he can’t afford to fall too much further behind, but it’s Trump who eventually comes out on top to build the first run of the frame.

The reds are well spread but the pink is tight to a stray red and the black is out of commission to the lower left cushion.

Trump does a great job playing off the blue to cannon into the red attached to the pink and free the colour.

It should make life easier but he over-screws trying to land on the pink to the bottom left and needs a very tidy recovery pot on the blue up to the yellow pocket.

The Ace in the Pack is back on track as a result and begins to play more off the pink to build a strong lead once again.

A red to the right corner seals the frame and when he pings away the pink to the opposite corner he also manages to free the black as a real bonus.

A third century in a row is now firmly on his radar and he gets the black on its spot to clinch the ton via a pot on that colour to the left corner.

It’s majestic stuff from Trump and the colours are mercilessly despatched to clinch a 127 clearance that moves him four clear and leaves Ronnie with it all to do.

Trump cuts a beauty of a red up to middle left and it looks like he’s ready to kick-on from where he left off prior to the mid-session interval.

He mops up a few stray reds but then pulls off a significant pot on the blue to middle right that allows him to explode into the pack and get a very nice spread.

He has options aplenty, moving between pink and blue to pick off what are routine reds.

The black is out of commission for the time-being, but he doesn’t need it as the fifth remaining red disappears to clinch frame-ball.

With the black now free he plays off it to finish off the reds near the bottom cushion before a lovely positional shot off the blue takes him to the final red near the green spot. That is despatched to the yellow pocket and the colours follow off their spots as The Juddernaut clocks up successive century clearances with a magnificent 128.

Trump breaks the impasse with a stonking, long red and then brutally jabs the green close to the baulk cushion into its home pocket to get the pace needed to move back down the table.

It’s a brilliant positional shot and he gets his reward with a flurry of routine red-black combinations to extend his advantage.

A red down to the right corner is frame ball and a blue to middle left ensures Ronnie won’t be returning.

A delightful cannon into the remaining two reds ensures the clearance and his fourth century of the tournament remain on, and he makes no mistake from there as cleans up to the tune of 106.

Ronnie wrestles some momentum back his way with a red and a safety, but on his second attempt to eat into Judd’s lead he misses a very make-able mid-range red down to the right corner.

That 95 clearance hasn’t quite been the catalyst for him to find a consistent groove.

A safety exchange opens Frame 4 and it’s not one O’Sullivan will remember too fondly.

The Rocket attempts to nick the edge of a red right of a tight pack but twice misses it!

It’s third time lucky but he’s back in trouble almost immediately as Trump earns appreciative gasps from the audience with a snooker in-behind the green and brown, tight together in baulk.

Ronnie misses by a whisker and leaves a red on for Judd to nick into the left corner. He follows with a blue to middle right and a red back down to the left corner bag.

It’s not a favourable table at present and Judd can’t develop anything beyond a run of 14 as a straight pot on the black leaves him with a very tough cut on a red to the right corner that doesn’t quite escape the jaws.

Ronnie gets a very useful nudge off a colour playing safe to baulk and it leads to Judd fouling once more.

This time, The Rocket gets some rhythm flowing, gliding a lovely red to bottom left and he’s able to work his way into a succession of routine reds via the black.

A red down the left rail with the rest keeps him on track for the black and he plays delicious left side to ease in-behind a red within a cluster of four and despatch it to the same corner.

A red and pink to bottom right follow and he makes no mistake sinking the penultimate red that proves to be frame-ball.

It’s all about orthodox colours from there and he duly gets his Mojo flowing with a sublime 95 clearance.

Ronnie continues to struggle as he fluffs a red up to middle right.

Trump had walked to his chair expecting The Rocket to take advantage there, but instead he’s the one who nudges the board.

It all goes awry when he attempts to split the pack off a pot on the blue to middle right, but a red bullets into the left corner as a result.

Not to be outdone, Ronnie then contrives to drift the cue ball into middle left after notching a solitary red.

It’s a comedy of errors right now and hard to see who will pull free in this frame…

Once again it’s Judd who pulls off an excellent red to break a brief impasse.

A yellow to its own pocket allows him to come off two cushions and begin his attack on what is now a very inviting lay of remaining reds.

He pulls clear with a series of routine red-black combos and angles one down the left rail with the aid of the rest to tee up a black to the right corner that seals the frame.

There are two reds remaining tight to the left side of the bottom cushion and Judd plays safe off a run of 51.

Ronnie needs snookers and again sees no value in searching for them to put Trump firmly in the driving seat early in this semi.

It’s a rather patchy start despite one or two world-class pots.

Indeed, Judd blows out his cheeks when a foul offers O’Sullivan an opening, but The Rocket has yet to ignite so far today and a missed red to the right corner plunges the pendulum back Trump’s way.

The Juddernaut navigates an asteroid field of reds to nick one away and land beautifully on the black up to middle right. He sinks it with aplomb but then watches in frustration as the cue ball flies back down the table and into the left corner bag.

Ronnie leaves the cue ball near to the green pocket, but Judd makes it look routine as he blitzes a special long red to the left corner. He follows with a black to the right but then misses a cut on a red to the same pocket that’s you’d have bet your house on him sinking.

Ronnie sets about trying to punish him with a red to middle right but then fails with an attempted cannon off the upper right rail into the pack via a pot on the green to its own pocket.

The Rocket recovers with a super, long red down the right rail but then comes unstuck when the black decides to jump free from the left corner.

Trump is back in almost immediately and this time he gets the ricochet with a superb positional shot to free a red on the bottom cushion and lay the platform for a clinical pot to the left corner via the rest.

The final red follows and he’s out of sight when a long-range yellow to its home pocket refuses the invitation.

The cue ball lands tight behind the green and Ronnie isn’t interested in prolonging the opener for the sake of it.

Ronnie can only add a solitary red to his score and Trump is relieved to get another chance, this time seizing the initiative with a super cut on a mid-range red to the right corner.

He works his way to the final three reds, but two are tight to the left side of the bottom rail and he can’t find the position for a pot on either of them.

The Ace in the Pack gets on the board and lays a trap tight behind the green.

O’Sullivan can’t wriggle free and smacks the pink face on – ‘Foul!’

Judd’s eyes light up and he plays off the blue in the middle of the table before a pink to the left corner puts him ahead on the board.

The reds are nicely spread and he again uses the pink to the right to tee up a red to middle left, but he contrives to clip the far jaw and it’s end of break!

Trump looks on ruefully and well might he – that was a frame-winning chance.

Ronnie immediately sizzles down a long red to hopefully set the tone for a spectacle of attacking snooker.

The Rocket opts for a quick snooker behind the yellow and it pays dividends as Judd fails to tickle down a red to the right corner and it paves the way for the seven-time World champion to take charge.

He attempts a split off a pot on the black to the right but he’s unfortunate with the roll of the balls and has to retreat to baulk off 24.

Shaun Murphy has been in markedly better form for the last couple of seasons and he carried that into his match-up with Mark Selby on Friday in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

Hello and welcome to our LIVE updates from the second semi-final at the Shanghai Masters. We’ve got a blockbuster coming your way from 07.00 BST as the first session of Ronnie O’Sullivan versus Judd Trump gets underway.

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