UK Championship 2023: Judd Trump impresses to secure first-round win over Pang Junxu after medical emergency

Judd Trump battled through illness to secure an impressive 6-1 victory over Pang Junxu in the opening round of the UK Championship at the Barbican Centre in York on Monday.

Before the game started, Trump said he had been ill for the last four to five days, but he barely missed a step as he delighted the crowd in the first frame.

The No. 4 seed wasted no time at all to reach a century after achieving the feat in just seven minutes and 35 seconds as he cruised to win the opening frame.

The second frame was a much closer affair with the first points for any of the players coming when Trump potted the white. The Englishman’s errors proved costly as Pang levelled the score at 1-1 after a fortunate shot.

Although Trump potted the white once more in the third frame, it was Pang who was left to rue a few missed chances as Trump went back ahead 2-1.

During the fourth frame, both players were forced to leave the arena after there was a medical emergency in the crowd.

The delay did not last too long and when both men returned, it was Trump who turned on the style with another century and a number of glorious shots to go 3-1 up before the break.

Pang’s fortunes did not change after the interval as he missed the chance to get going after missing the pink to the right corner. Trump was clinical and eased into a 4-1 lead.

Despite battling hard in the following frame for a total of 29 minutes, Pang was unable to prevent Trump from extending his lead before the world No. 2 finished things off to seal a 6-1 victory to book a place into the last 16.

Trump will face the winner of the match between Jack Lisowski and Jamie Jones for a place in this year’s quarter-finals.

In the afternoon’s other match, Barry Hawkins progressed with victory over compatriot Ben Woollaston.

The 12th-ranked player was made to work for his win, but eventually overcame the 51st-ranked player 6-4 to move into the second round.