Judd Trump will be hoping to take his chance and defend his European Masters title after reaching the semi-finals of the event. Trump, now 4/6 favourite to win the event, has never defended any of his previous seven ranking titles but he will be hoping to change his luck this weekend. The Englishman has had to work hard for his place in the final four, but consecutive wins in the previous four rounds have got him in a good position. After beating Adam Duffy 4-1 in the first round, he then beat Martin O’Donnell 4-3.
A win against David B Gilbert then set up a quarter-final tie with Mark Allen but he beat his rival in a final frame decider on Friday. Trump charged into a 3-0 lead against Allen but the Northern Irishman fought back with breaks of 102 and 76. He then won the next on the black to set up a decider but Trump’s break of 70 got him over the line. Speaking after the match, he told reporters: “All of the greats have defended a title. For me to be up there with them I need to do these kind of things. Win tournaments twice, win two in a row and get as many titles as possible.”
His reward is a clash against Cao Yupeng, who was too strong for Mark Williams. Yupeng fired home breaks of 76 and 73 on his way to a 4-2 victory but he is the big underdog against Trump. Trump is the 1/2 favourite, with Yupeng priced at 4/1 and you can back the ‘The Ace in the Pack’ to win 6-2 at odds of 10/3.
European Masters odds available at Dafabet.