UK Championship: Judd Trump knocked out by Nigel Bond in third round
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World number one Judd Trump’s UK Championship run came to an abrupt end in the third round with an astonishing 6-3 defeat against veteran world number 98 Nigel Bond.
Breaks of 52, 114 and 90 put world champion Trump in control at 3-1.
But Bond, 54, used all his guile and matched it with fabulous break-building to win the next five frames, getting over the line with a fine long pink.
“He’s the man of the moment. I’m 54 what am I doing?” Bond told BBC Sport.
“Once I settled I played some good stuff out there. It’s unbelievable.
“Judd missed one or two, which helped, but I was just trying to show people I can still play. When I am feeling good, my game is still there.”
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Trump, 30, was aiming to become just the fourth player to hold all three Triple Crown titles – the World Championship, the Masters and UK Championship – at the same time.
The Bristolian had dropped just one frame on his way to the third round, but said he struggled in his 6-1 win over Mei Xiwen last time out despite scoring a century and four breaks of more than 50.
But he seemed increasingly out of sorts against Bond, who has reached the last 16 of the UK Championship for the first time since 2007.
Trump said: “Anything can happen in snooker. He used his experiences and he scored heavily as well.
“I didn’t do a lot wrong. It wasn’t like I was getting in and missing. He made it scrappy and he took advantage. The pace of the game was very slow and hard for me to get a rhythm.
“Everyone’s human. You can never get too excited or too down.”
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