Judd Trump won his 18th consecutive match to reach the Northern Ireland Open semi-finals.
Following an entertaining battle, Trump beat Stephen Maguire 5-4 at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.
Trump’s hopes of a third title in a row are still alive, with Barry Hawkins standing between himself and a place in the final.
Despite a couple of scintillating pots from Trump, there were errors from both players early on which made it tricky for either to stamp their authority on a sluggish opening frame.
Maguire had a 33-point lead when Trump responded with a magnificent red down the cushion, but then missed a far easier pot to give Maguire the opportunity to draw first blood.
The Scotsman made sure of an impressive long red of his own on his way to taking the early lead.
Trump kicked the second frame off with another fantastic long red and this time, was able to capitalise on his good start with a break of 78 to level matters.
‘Wow, what a shot’ – Trump knocks in stunning long red down the cushion
Then in an attempt of his own to clear the table, Maguire couldn’t quite match Trump’s effort, but his break of 74 was enough to regain the lead at 2-1.
A strong response from Trump in the fourth frame looked likely when he split the reds with the cue ball and potted the blue, however, his run only lasted to 19.
Maguire returned to the table and rattled through the balls to rack up 42 points before playing a safety shot, a tactic he stuck with throughout the remainder of the fourth to protect his lead and notch a two-frame cushion.
But, unfortunately for Maguire, Trump responded in typical fashion following the mid-session interval.
He posted his 36th century of the season to reduce the deficit to one and his brilliant form in the fifth frame helped to shift momentum into the Englishman’s favour.
The world No. 3 continued his sparkling post-interval form to craft another big break, this time reaching 81, to pull level at 3-3.
The next frame was much closer fought, with both players playing safely to kickstart a tactical affair.
Maguire made 44 as he edged towards victory in the seventh frame, but not without nerve, as Trump returned to the table to produce a fine break of 53.
However, Maguire held those nerves to drop in a blue to land on a pink, which went in as he took the lead in the match for the third time.
Although Maguire is itching for a taste of silverware, it takes a lot to beat Trump which proved to be the case again, as the 2019 world champion produced another high break of 71 to set up a deciding frame.
It was another dazzling frame from Trump, whose break of 54 put him in control of the decider.
Maguire tried to hit back with a long, tricky three-ball plant, but it was a speculative effort from the world No. 32 who had to sit back and watch Trump close out the match.
Trump improved his score to 86 and at the same time sealed his 18th-straight win to reach Saturday’s semi-final.
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