World Champion, Judd Trump has failed in his quest to evade the wind of jaw-dropping shocks that has swept through the English Open this term, as he succumbed to a humbling defeat by Lee Walker.
The World number one suffered a huge shock despite making two centuries in the game. Trump must have felt gutted losing to his opponent, who he stood 78 places over in the world rankings, and to do so in such manner?
Lee Walker, world number 80, took the world champion by surprise with a 4-2 win. Speaking for Lee, he had a quick start to the game, snatching the lead early on like you would expect of a sprinter who had been handed a good head start.
The Welsh veteran raced to a 2-0 lead. But was that comfortable enough against the World number one? Walker had sweat trickling down his neck, and it was for obvious reasons – Trump could make a quick recovery any moment from then, and he did just that!
Trump powered back into the game, reeling off-breaks of 135 and 101 and looked the likeliest to surge for victory. However, 43-year-old Lee was better at combining his hunger for the win and the right technique. Lee Walker battled hard and played brilliantly to win two more frames to seal one of the biggest victories of his career.
The 43-year-old has been responsible for knocking out some of the best fingers in the game – Mark Selby and Robertson and has now added Judd Trump to that list of exceptional victories.
Here’s what he had to say concerning the victory:
“I’m feeling good, I played good, a bit nervy at the end, I don’t need those at my age,” he told EuroSport.
“I think the standard of the match is probably the best, I’ve had good wins over Selby, Robertson but I’d say that would be up there with the best standard.”
The 43-year-old reached the World Championship quarter-finals as far back as 1997 on his debut in the tournament. However, he could only manage one match win this season before arriving in Crawley for the English Open.
Mark Allen is favoured at 1.20 to eliminate Lee Walker. While Lee is priced at 4.41
Written by: Roland Arum