German Masters 2024: OVERCOMING SAM CRAIGIE, JUDD TRUMP ACHIEVES A FOURTH FINAL
Judd Trump
Sam Craigie
Judd Trump defeated Sam Craigie 6-2 in the semi-finals at the Tempodrom in Berlin. It was hardly a vintage effort,
but it was good enough to get him to his fourth German Masters final of the career. Trump,
the two-time winner of the German Masters, had a strong start but occasionally made mistakes.
Nevertheless, he was able to rely on his past performance in crucial situations to get himself to the final on Sunday.
Judd Trump defeated Sam Craigie 6-2, moving into his fourth career German Masters final even though he wasn’t playing at his best.
Trump entered the tournament as the fourth seed and defeated John Higgins 6-2 in the final eight to win a fifth career meeting with Craigie.
Trump won this tournament in 2020 and 2021.
Judd Trump defeated Sam Craigie 6-2, moving into his fourth career German Masters final even though he wasn’t playing at his best.
Trump, the tournament winner in 2020 and 2021, entered as the fourth seed and defeated John Higgins 6-2 in the final eight to book a fifth meeting with Craigie
At the Tempodrom in Berlin, Craigie, the 30-year-old Geordie,
advanced to the final four of a rankings tournament for the first time.
He had gained considerable momentum,
defeating top seed and reigning champion Ali Carter 5-1 in the quarterfinals to set up a matchup with Trump.
In their four encounters, both men emerged victorious twice,
with Craigie triumphing in their most recent match in the WST Pro Series in 2021.
However, in this instance, Trump made full use of his background to propel himself into the championship game.
In the early exchanges of the opening frame,
Craigie shown indications of nervousness with a clip off the brown and two fouls.
This allowed Trump to settle into a comfortable rhythm right away,
building up a sizable lead and compelling Craigie to concede when needing numerous snookers.
The second set started off fairly for the underdog,
who then took advantage of Trump putting the black ball in the jaws to tie the game and book his own semifinal position.
Trump led 48 to win the third, but Craigie responded with a black in the jaws,
giving the former world champion a chance to tie the match.
However, a critical in-off after a potted yellow gave the former world champion the advantage once more.
The Bristolian opened up a 45-5 lead with two outstanding long pots before jawing another ball to keep his opponent from mounting a comeback.
However, the world No. 2 ultimately completed the task to lead 3-1 at the half.
In short order, a fantastic 68 break quickly brought up 4-1.
The highlight of the fifth was a stunning yellow down the table that broke several reds.
Still, Craigie would not give up, setting the highest break of the evening at 71.
Later in the seventh, despite a fantastic shot,
Trump would regain momentum when a fluke ended a protracted safety exchange, giving him a chance to finish the frame.
He successfully accomplished this with a break of 75, needing just one more to go to Sunday’s final.
At the beginning of the eighth frame, Craigie missed a long pot, leaving the cue ball in the middle of a sea of reds,
and things were dire.
It took longer than anticipated,
but Trump eventually made his way through to the championship match,
where he will square up against Si Jiahui, the winner of Kyren Wilson’s loss in the bottom half of the draw.
