Judd Trump in spectacular form to beat Zhou Yuelong and set up Crucible blockbuster

Judd Trump is into the last 16 at the Crucible (Picture: Getty Images)

Judd Trump has powered into the second round of the World Snooker Championship with a 10-4 win over Zhou Yuelong to set up a blockbuster clash with Shaun Murphy.

The match continued on Wednesday evening at 6-3 from the first session on Tuesday, a scoreline Trump will have been slightly frustrated with after chances to make his lead bigger.

If he was frustrated then he took it out on Zhou and the table as he began the second session with three centuries on the spin.

Breaks of 113, 114 and 114 powered the world number one to one frame from victory, looking like he was in a hurry to get the job done.

Zhou slowed him down in the next, getting his first frame of the night, but only after escaping a nasty snooker from Trump at the climax to get over the line.

However, it was not much of a delay for the 2019 world champion, who returned from the mid-session interval to win the match in the next with a break of 100.

Having been suffering with tonsilitis ahead of the tournament, it was an impressive start to the campaign for the Ace.

Zhou Yuelong was playing at the Crucible for the first time since 2019 (Picture: Getty Images)

Trump said he didn’t feel quite as good as he looked, telling the BBC: ‘I felt a little bit nervy to be honest.

‘I didn’t think I was playing that well, my position wasn’t that good because I was a bit nervous. As the game was going on I felt better every frame.’

It is a brilliant second round contest ahead as the world number one takes on the reigning Masters champion for a place in the quarter-finals.

Murphy has had an excellent season and looked in tremendous form in his opening contest as he knocked off Daniel Wells 10-4.

The Magician made three centuries (138, 133 and 100) and seven more half-centuries, with Wells thoroughly impressed by the winner.

Shaun Murphy started brilliantly at the Crucible (Picture: Getty Images)

‘I’d be hard pressed to see anybody better than that over a best of 19 match,’ Wells said of Murphy. ‘Just watching him up close, the way he strikes the cue ball is just fantastic I’m going to hopefully see if I can have a practice session with him next season and pick his brains on a few technical things.

‘His cue action, for me, is the best in the game. It’s like watching an exceptional golfer, the back swing and delivery is just special. He makes the balls move around so easily, he bullies the balls. It’s intimidating to play against.’

Murphy was on BBC punditry duty for Trump’s game and said: ‘It doesn’t get much better than that. That was an outstanding performance.

‘That was the performance, possibly, of the round so far.’

Trump started the event as the bookmakers’ favourite (Picture: Getty Images)

Trump’s four centuries against Zhou takes his tally for the season to 98, just two away from the 100 that would earn him a bonus of £100,000.

‘It’s probably not in my mind, but I can feel it in the crowd every time I get close, it gets quite tense,’ said Trump.

‘It’s something I’d like to get out of the way and concentrate on playing Shaun if possible.’

He added on TNT: ‘To play Shaun in the second round of the World Championship, it could easily be the final. To win the World Championship nowadays you’ve got to beat a lot of great players, it doesn’t get a lot tougher than Shaun in the second round.’

Trump vs Murphy is played over three sessions on Sunday and Monday.