Two-ton Trump surpasses Sunny to keep Gibraltar Open title defence on track
Trump is on course for a £150,000 bonus in Milton Keynes
Reigning champion Judd Trump kept his Gibraltar Open title defence on track while remaining on course to win the BetVictor European Series with a commanding 4-1 victory over Sunny Akani in round two.
World number one Trump made two centuries – both stunning contributions of 124 – as he eased past his Thai opponent in Milton Keynes.
The Ace, who currently tops the European Series standings, is also on course to collect the £150,000 bonus; the only condition preventing him would be if second-placed Mark Selby were to reach to the final at the Marshall Arena.
Trump made a scintillating start on Thursday with a stunning break of 124 to draw first blood, before doubling his lead by taking a close second frame on the colours.
World number 53 Akani replied with 75 in the next, but another magnificent 124 contribution helped the world number one restore his two-frame buffer.
And a run of 55 was enough to seal the deal, while booking a third-round date with either Liang Wenbo or Robert Milkins.
The Ace remains on a potential collision course with Series title challenger Selby in the semi-finals.
The three-time World champion recovered from 2-0 down to see off 1997 Crucible king Ken Doherty 4-2.
Despite a slow start, the Jester clawed his way back to 2-2, before securing victory with superb back-to-back centuries of 130 and 124.
Elsewhere, world number five Kyren Wilson hit a top break of 105 in his 4-0 whitewash of Fan Zhengyi, while former Masters champion Mark Allen also reeled off four frames without reply against Jamie Curtis-Barrett.
The Pistol made history during his comprehensive victory. Two runs of 70 set the record for the highest duplicated break constructed by the same player in a single frame; eclipsing the benchmark of 64 by fellow Northern Irishman Gerard Greene.
Meanwhile, world number 10 Jack Lisowski was a 4-1 winner over Jak Jones – as was former China Championship victor Luca Brecel, who closed with back-to-back tons of 100 and 112 against Mark King.
Although, there was no joy for Barry Hawkins or Zhou Yuelong, whose top-16 hopes ahead of the World Championship suffered an untimely blow.
Despite a top break of 130, world number 15 Hawkins was ousted in a deciding frame by Matthew Selt, who built on his first-round victory over the returning Stephen Hendry, while world number 18 Zhou lost 4-1 to Alexander Ursenbacher.
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Gibraltar Open 2021 Results
Thursday March 4
Round One
Iulian Boiko 4-3 Fergal O’Brien
Mark Allen 4-0 Jamie Curtis-Barrett
Brandon Sargeant 1-4 Aaron Hill
Mark King 1-4 Luca Brecel
Second Round
Zhou Yuelong 1-4 Alexander Ursenbacher
David Lilley 3-4 Mitchell Mann
Hossein Vafaei 4-1 Allan Taylor
Kyren Wilson 4-0 Fan Zhengyi
Ricky Walden 4-3 Si Jiahui
Chen Zifan 4-3 Leo Fernandez
Chang Bingyu 2-4 Chris Wakelin
Ken Doherty 2-4 Mark Selby
Scott Donaldson 2-4 Joe Perry
Matthew Selt 4-3 Barry Hawkins
Zhao Xintong 4-2 Daniel Wells
Jack Lisowski 4-1 Jak Jones
Judd Trump 4-1 Sunny Akani
Tom Ford 4-2 Jamie Jones
Andrew Higginson 2-4 Stuart Carrington
Tian Pengfei 0-4 Anthony Hamilton