Prior to the encounter between Judd Trump and Nigel Bond, Trump was unbeatable. A genius that makes even his fiercest rivals wax lyrical about him. He made the best pots in the UK Championship this year and looked set to make even more. But then came Bond who in James Bond-esque fashion took out Trump.
After winning the first two frames, Trump was running riot and looked set to stroll past the world number 98, Nigel Bond. By the close of the fourth frame, Trump looked very comfortable at 3-1. However, Bond soon took him by surprise. The 54-year-old synthesized one of the best comebacks ever, stringing wins in five frames on the bounce to seal his place in the last-16.
Bond, 54 made the top 5 world ranking as far back as 1997 and has never made it past the quarter-finals of the UK Championship. He was the least suspect to take out Trump but did it in style.
Bond could never have imagined himself show the world number 1 the exit door and this was evident in the final minutes of the game as he went for safety play in the eighth frame. Trump has yet again failed to break the jinx. The world number one has failed to reach the last-eight of the UK Championship in five straight seasons.
Juddernaut might have been disappointed by the result, yet, he didn’t fail to praise his opponent who delivered a masterclass. He rightly pointed out that Nigel was incredible on the table and made him feel awkward. He stressed that it was important not to get complacent in a snooker game as you never can tell how the results swing in the end.
Before this encounter, Bond had made only two centuries this season didn’t look the least likely to cause an upset. The 54-year-old veteran who turned professional in the same year that Judd Trump was born looked like he was going to be subject to another routine but Trump when the scoreboard read 3-1.
However, Bond followed this up by four more frames after the break to take a 5-3 lead. Trump could feel his Triple Crown title slipping out of his fingers but could do nothing to save himself.
Bond would eventually get the win and put his name in the last-16 instead.
Written by: Roland Arum