• International Championship

Trump stuns Robertson in Chengdu

ESPN staff
November 4, 2012
Judd Trump edged past Neil Robertson in the final © PA Photos
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New world No. 1 Judd Trump came from behind to defeat Neil Robertson in an entertaining final of the inaugural International Championship on Sunday.

Trump took home the £125,000 winner's prize after digging himself out of an 8-6 hole to overcome Neil Robertson 10-6 in the best-of-19 frames final in Chengdu, China - clinching his third ranking title in the process.

Robertson, meanwhile, was forced to settle for the £62,500 runner-up prize - although he collected an extra £2,000 for notching the highest break of the tournament, a 142 against Shaun Murphy in their semi-final.

Robertson went into the final with a slender advantage over Trump in their head-to-head encounters, winning four of the pair's previous seven meetings. But it was Trump who made the first move of the contest, winning the two scrappy opening frames with decisive breaks of 61 and 46.

The 23-year-old then blew a fantastic chance to extend his advantage, allowing Robertson to the table after a sloppy positional shot, the Australian clinching the stanza with a 77 clearance - going on to add the next three in a similar fashion to move ahead.

Trump then profited from a speculative early potting attempt in the seventh frame which allowed him to draw back within one of Robertson, with the session subsequently coming to an end after the players had split the difference in two messy final frames.

Robertson returned after the interval with a 5-4 lead, then, but Trump erased that margin following a re-rack in the first frame back - before the scores were then extended to 6-6. Robertson responded by making his big move for victory, however, profiting from another sloppy Trump shot to get the scores to 7-6 with a break of 88, and then moving within two of victory after playing the cleaner snooker in yet another careless frame.

Trump was not going to throw away the contest, however, taking the 15th frame of the match despite spinning a black off the table, before making the scoreline 8-8 with a spirited 96 break.

A century break of 119 then put him on the verge of victory - and that much-needed cueing confidence was what the youngster needed to carry him home, Trump potting cleanly in the 18th frame to fend off any Robertson revival and secure a lucrative triumph.

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