Bingham topples Trump as Robertson fightback stuns Murphy

Stuart Bingham is through to his first ranking final in six years, following a 6-3 victory over Judd Trump at the World Grand Prix.

Ballrun also secured his place in the 16-man Players Championship later this month, after hitting breaks of 104, 72 and 69 to set up a showdown with Neil Robertson in Sunday’s final at the Kai Tak Arena in Hong Kong.

Bingham, who had not progressed beyond the last 16 of any ranking event this season prior to this week, drew first blood after a lengthy opening frame, though Trump responded with 106 to level.

However, the 2015 World champion went into overdrive, with contributions of 104, 72 and 69 as he won the next four frames to move within one of a second World Grand Prix final appearance.

Three-time champion Trump stopped the rot with breaks of 124 and 72 to keep his faint hopes alive and reduce the deficit to 5-3.

But Bingham – a runner-up nine years ago – was not to be denied a place in his first ranking final since the 2019 Gibraltar Open.

“I’m over the moon,” he told WST. “I had a little tear there at the table, because it has been a long time.

“Without a doubt, I’ve wondered if I ever would get back in a ranking final. The last few years haven’t been good on my part. I’ve been searching and trying things. This week it has clicked for me. I’ve got through matches without feeling the best, but now, I’m in the final.”

Robertson awaits him after recovering from 5-3 down to edge out Shaun Murphy in a deciding frame.

The Australian, who won this event in 2020, came flying out of the blocks with back-to-back centuries of 114 and 104 for an early 2-0 lead. 

However, 2016 champion Murphy responded with runs of 52 and 77 and, though Robertson restored his lead at 3-2, the Magician reeled off three successive frames, with breaks of 64, 107 and 77 putting him on the brink of victory.

But the English Open champion dug deep by dominating the next two frames to force a decider, in which a cracking long red paved the way for a match-winning break of 114 to get over the line.

“It was a brilliant match,” Robertson said. “I started off so well. I missed a couple of difficult pots, but other than that, I didn’t do too much wrong.

“Shaun played really well. He was very aggressive, potting some brilliant balls to get in and create frame-winning opportunities. It’s easier to stay in the match when you haven’t done much wrong.

“Full complements to Shaun, he said after the match that there wasn’t anything he could do about that long red I potted in the last frame. It was an unbelievable shot to create the match-winning visit.”