Matthew Selt sends Judd Trump packing at the UK Championship

Jamie Shaw in UK Championship 1 December 2021

Left arrow

Ronnie O’Sullivan v Noppon Saengkham live stream | UK Championship 2021 preview

Right arrow

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Kyren Wilson set up UK Championship Quarter-Final clash

Good friends Trump and Selt face off in the Antalya showpiece (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images)

Matthew Selt pulled off a shock 6-3 win over Judd Trump to reach the Last 16 of the 2021 UK Championship in York on Tuesday.

World number 35 Selt ensured Trump would became the latest big named casualty in the season’s opening Triple Crown event as he claimed a famous scalp of the reigning Champion of Champions.

Trump got off to a solid start by taking the first frame with a break of 68, and after Selt levelled with a break of 63, the 2011 UK Champion clinched the third frame to move 2-1 ahead.

Selt then reeled off three frames in a row with breaks of 55, 55 and 60 to pull clear, and after Trump had stopped the rot in frame seven, Selt claimed a crucial eighth frame on the final black to make it 5-3.

The former Indian Open champion wasted no time in sealing victory, doing so in supreme style with a break of 128.

“I started off a bit slow,” Selt told BBC Sport. “In the first frame I missed a good chance and against a player of Judd’s calibre you need to kill every chance you get.

“I managed to get a foothold and get back into it. He made some very basic mistakes and it was great news for me.”

Trump, who lost out in last year’s final, gave a scathing assessment of his performance, admitting: “I was just poor really, crap from the start to the finish.

“It always seems to be the same in this venue, I always struggle here, for what reason I don’t know.

“The tournament just seems to take so long and I can’t seem to get up for it. I just felt flat.”

Meanwhile, David Gilbert rallied back from 3-0 and 5-2 down to edge out Northern Ireland Open champion Mark Allen in a decider.

Allen coasted to the opening three frames without reply with a 75 break along the way, before Gilbert got off the mark thanks to a break of 88.

2011 and 2018 finalist Allen added a contribution of 78 as he moved within a frame of victory at 5-2, but only for Gilbert to reel off three in a row before completing the comeback with a break of 63 in the decider.

Peter Lines became the lowest ranked player to reach the Last 16 as the world number 106 came from 3-1 down to defeat Sam Craigie 6-3.

Anthony McGill recovered from 5-3 down to edge out Zhou Yuelong 6-5 courtesy of a sensational break of 135 in the deciding frame.

Luca Brecel took advantage of an out of sorts Stephen Maguire to whitewash the 2004 UK Champion despite a high break of just 50.

Hossein Vafaei, conqueror of Mark Selby in the last round, followed up with a commanding 6-2 success over Xiao Guodong to reach the Last 16 in York for the first time.

Welsh Open winner Jordan Brown is also into Round Four for the first time following a 6-3 win over Mark Joyce with a high break of 128.

Anthony Hamilton came through a five-hour marathon with Ricky Walden to prevail 6-4 on a re-spotted black in the final frame.

WATCH UK CHAMPIONSHIP SNOOKER STREAMED LIVE HERE (18+)