It may not have been the fireworks of a match many were hoping for in terms of consecutive centuries and big breaks, but the narrative of the match went exactly how one would expect a Neil Robertson/Judd Trump epic to go. And that was right down the wire, all the way to the very end. This is the UK Championship final, and what a fascinating late night ending we were treated to.
This isn’t going to follow the usual format of me providing a breakdown and then a separate afterthoughts, rather just combining the two into one and highlighting the key moments that occurred, particularly in the latter stages of the contest. The final played out closely fought as many would’ve expected, but neither player was firing on all cylinders. Rather, the match was primarily decided on a series of safety battles and lengthy frames.
It was level pegging throughout, where neither player was able to establish more than a one frame lead. However, it was during Frame 18 where things started to get theatrical. Requiring one frame for victory at 9-8 up, Trump was in seemingly good form as he was clearing his way through the table and towards his second UK title. Whilst on 48 – and the commentators praising Trump on how excellent he’s been over the past few years - a gentle split from the blue when slightly wrong, leaving him hampered to pot the next red.
A display of terrific potting and one of the best pressure brown balls you could ever hope to see led to Robertson countering with the best 72 clearance he has ever made. In a situation where Robertson could have rolled in behind a baulk colour, he showed his true character as he took on a pot most wouldn’t have dared. Thus, forcing the decider.
And it was a decider that took us into the next day. Taking over one hour long and coming down to the final colours saw an unbelievable series of events. Firstly, Trump potting a green with his right hand under these circumstances and screwing back perfectly to lay behind the brown. The score was 34-47 and Trump needed all remaining colours. The following brown was arguably the key behind what followed, given he didn’t get into the cue ball enough to land near the blue.
Nevertheless, Trump potted the blue well to leave himself with a pink that certainly wasn’t a sitter. However, it was still the kind of ball you’d expect Trump to knock in with his eyes closed. Make sense? Well, I’m sure you’ve seen what’s happened at this point. An overcut pink that would’ve sent shockwaves through the audience (had one been present) allowed the cue ball to travel up the table far enough for Robertson to attempt the pink where the balls were left.
And the rest is history. Robertson picked up his third UK title after a tremendous effort as he levels his ranking tally alongside his cohort at 19. It was a monumental undertaking for both players, and also the audience that stayed up to watch the match through to its conclusion. While it may seemed to have dragged on at certain points, all was forgotten once we arrived at the deciding frame and both players were just trying to get over the winning line.
Robertson showed true tenacity as he once again is able to turn a deficit on its head, very similar to last year’s Champion of Champions. And Trump is continuing to redefine the landscape of snooker with his superior potting and formidable match play. These two always bring out the best matches and they showed at the UK that the best matches don’t necessarily need to be all about the centuries.
Many like to mention pressure, ‘bottling’ or an assortment of other factors that led to the result of this final but to me personally, the difference maker was undoubtedly the green juice.
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