Wu upsets Trump at World Snooker Tour International Championship

NANJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Judd Trump was eliminated from the 2025 World Snooker Tour International Championship after losing to Wu Yize 6-4 in the round of 16 on Wednesday.

Defending champion Ding Junhui fell to Shaun Murphy 6-2 and world No. 3 Neil Robertson was ousted by Zak Surety 6-3.

Trump started strongly, compiling breaks of 89 and 67 to race to a 4-0 lead. However, the mid-session interval turned the tide. Wu returned to the table with relentless scoring, compiling consecutive breaks of 62, 88, 92, 86, and 80 to claim five straight frames and overturn the deficit.

In the crucial sixth frame, Wu even notched a 109 break, which was not only the only century of the match but also the 100th century break of his professional career. In the end, Wu sealed his comeback win with six consecutive frames to advance to the quarterfinals.

"I actually stayed pretty calm throughout the match. Trump's defense was really solid in the first session, and he didn't give me many chances," Wu said, adding that when he was 0-4 down, he just focused on playing one shot at a time and clawed back the score bit by bit.

Wu's win served as redemption of sorts after having lost to Trump at the 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters. Wu had led that contest 4-0 but lost five straight frames to Trump, who went on to win.

"After leading 4-0 last time, I let my guard down due to inexperience and ended up losing. I learned from that defeat, and it crossed my mind again today. I believe if I focus on my own game, I'm still capable of turning things around," Wu said.

Meanwhile, China's Ding was ousted by Murphy, who led 3-1 after the first session. Following the interval, the pair exchanged frames before Murphy fired in breaks of 88 and 67 to seal a 6-2 win. Zak Surety maintained his excellent recent form to defeat Neil Robertson 6-3 and advance to the quarter-finals.

In an all-Chinese matchup, Zhao Xintong defeated Si Jiahui 6-1.

"Si Jiahui gave me quite a few chances today. He missed some long pots that he could have made, leaving me with some relatively easy opportunities to get to the table," Zhao said.

In the quarterfinals, Zhao will face Mark Selby, who thrashed Anthony McGill 6-1, while Wu is set to take on Barry Hawkins, a 6-4 winner against Jack Lisowski.

The event will conclude on Sunday. ■