In a stunning upset at the World Snooker Tour (WST) International Championship held in Nanjing, the Chinese mainland's Xu Si defeated England's world No. 1 Judd Trump with a score of 6-4. This victory marks a significant milestone in Xu's career and highlights the rising prominence of Chinese players in the snooker world.
Xu Si started strong, taking a 2-0 lead with two impressive breaks of 76. However, Trump quickly regrouped, winning three consecutive frames to take the lead. The match remained tightly contested as both players exchanged the next two frames. In the final stages, Xu delivered exceptional performances with breaks of 104, 69, 58, and 68, preventing Trump from scoring any points in the last three frames.
Reflecting on his win, Xu said, \"It was my mindset during the key moments that helped. In the last frame, I felt a bit of tension, but luckily things went well, and I didn't leave any easy shots. Finishing the match felt really good. Sometimes you reach a point where you're very nervous, and then suddenly you're not nervous anymore.\"
Xu also highlighted the growing competitiveness among Chinese players, stating, \"I feel there's a much smaller gap now between myself and the top players. Recently, many Chinese players have been advancing to the latter stages of tournaments, which shows a significant improvement overall.\"
Trump's impressive streak of reaching at least the quarterfinals in 15 consecutive tournaments, winning four, and reaching two finals since January came to an unexpected end against Xu, who is ranked 48 places below him.
The night also saw other notable performances. Ding Junhui defeated Jiang Jun 6-3, advancing to his first ranking event quarterfinal of the season with a top break of 109. Additionally, Wuhan Open champion Xiao Guodong overcame England's Jack Lisowski 6-3 to secure his place in the elite 16 and earn a seeded position for the upcoming UK Championship in November.
Reference(s):
Xu Si upsets World No. 1 Judd Trump at WST International Championship
cgtn.com
