Nail-Biting Final Frames | Judd Trump vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh | 2022 Scottish Open QF ‒ Snooker

Tonight, of course, it's Mark Selby against Neil Robertson. And that's from seven o'clock. Quarter to UK time. Good opening word from Tep Chaya, who needs to respond now. Three. Yeah, if it's on points, Selby's way ahead, but it's only that one frame lead that really counts. Chaya has got a chance to put his stamp on this frame early on. Eleven. Twelve. Of course, he nearly dropped off the tour last season. He was in serious danger going into World Championship qualifying. Eighteen. That with a trace of left-hand side. Bottom red in the bunch goes, as you can see. Delicate shot, needed to land on it. Very well done, actually. Better shot, I think, than it looked. Twenty-five. Wouldn't want to change him too much as a player. I mean, there's a few things that he could do differently. Can't take away the most important part of his game, which is his gift for putting and scoring. His strength is just the way that he can get in and win frames very quickly. Things are never going to be perfect with his game. Thirty. On a good day, he's something to watch. He's someone whose game is absolutely tailor-made to the shootout. Anyone could have looked elsewhere, to be honest. Now. Thirty-nine. Tep Chaya on it. Thirty-nine. How costly might that be? Big moment, this. Could be the passage of play where the match is either won or lost, certainly in the case of Judd. It wasn't in first. If he can go on and win the frame from here, then he really is a foot in the semifinals. These events really do suit him. Won the Northern Ireland Open three times. This one has eluded him so far. The Scottish. Twenty-three. He was runner-up in the Welsh Open to Joe Perry. He was runner-up in the World Championship Final to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Thirty. Somewhat less so, and that is how high he has set the bar. Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Once again, the red on the left will be a potential stumbling block. But as a left-handed player, he hasn't got the issue. Forty-seven. He'll probably try and land his cue ball in behind that rather than move it. Fifty-four. Fifty-five. It's one of these positional shots. If you get it right and you get perfectly on the red, it's almost unmissable for a left-handed player. Cue ball finished on the side of the cushion. It's not quite the same. And that isn't quite the same either. While I would expect him to get it. Got to get the rest out. Yep. And it has gone wrong. Sixty-one. So as I say, he could have got pinpoint positional play. That was not going to happen. So another turning point in this frame. The second. One. Thank you. Reprieve and the chance to level things up again. Just in his chair looking more than disappointed. He didn't even get particularly close to that red. It's maybe a one in ten chance he'd miss it, perhaps. Greater than that. One in five, maybe, but he didn't even threaten the pocket, really. Anyway, that will be more significant if this clearance is made. Oh dear, no. Goodness. Did the pressure get to him there? Yeah. Trump was very quickly out of his chair, though. Realising that he'd not blown the frame with the miss he made earlier. The good news for Tepcheire is that he didn't leave. A straightforward win for Trump. Needs luck. I always think you get a match like this with these two big scorers. Quick players can win frames easily. But often a match like this will be decided on this sort of frame there. Roger Spencer sort of prowling there by the side of the table. He needed to have a close look at that. Most of the time, the referee seems to be some directive that they stand behind the player. He wanted to see that at close quarters. Understandably, he was definitely green first. Black moved afterwards. He's holding up his hand. Trusting to luck, having missed the green and got the snooker. That's not too bad. Green ball across to the right there. Massive shot, I feel, in the context of this frame. Got to hit it. But truth is, you can't be certain of putting anything safe from here. Got to try to hit the ball that's on. Return the compliment with a snooker of his own. Slightly awkward cue, but not too bad. With the pocket opening, means he can get low on the cue ball. Yeah, not an easy putt at the best of times, particularly given what's riding on this frame. I must say, I did fancy Judd for this because it's his sort of shot usually. It's over seven minutes since the last ball was potted, and we've got a little bit cold, the pair of them, at a crucial stage. Go around two cushions here, but contact. We'll have to use a fairly full contact, I think. It was the one. Maybe the middle bag was in the way. The two-cushion escape, which players would usually go for. Wow. Such a new form. Incredible. Not only failing with the putt, but going in off. Can he get a snooker behind the blank? That's what he's hoping for. Nicely played. I mean, a fairly mature shot choice after some thought. Foul. And a miss. Such a new form. Yeah. Take two. Terrific putt. He's willing that cue ball to slow down. He didn't want it tight to the ball rail. The only good thing about this shot is he does it at the angle to take him towards the blue, but in some ways that's the difficulty as well. Such a new three. I have to say, though, I'm a little surprised he never went for it at all. I didn't see it coming. Both players need three balls. When this frame has been played out, it's almost like the tail end of a deciding frame. Four. In goes the brown. Played it very well, actually. Cue ball wide. Another big shot coming up. He's just about got it. I think his heart was in his mouth. Twenty-eight minutes in length, but this pink to level things up. Fifteen. On the frame. Here it goes. What a touch iron new. Judd Trump had his chances, but it's the tie. Three frames all. Three possible frames remaining. What a big one it was to win, to keep himself right in contention. Yeah, that's one of the most annoying things for a snooker player when you do that break and the red drifts down the table. Twelve. Very infuriating. For Tep Chaya. Six. Seven. I guess it's worth repeating against something that we've already mentioned, but it is five-nil to Judd on the head-to-heads. Fourteen. Including a couple of pretty close matches in World Championship. He's never beaten him before. The tie. Fifteen. I suppose that plays a part. Twenty-three. This is a shot. Opens up a lot of reds. Twenty-three. Pretty good. Thirty-one. Thirty-six. Thirty-seven. Forty-four. Judd would have been very disappointed to have lost that previous frame in the fashion he eventually did. Forty-five. Yes, he had the... So it really was important that he came out quickly in this frame and regrouped. Fifty-two. Fifty-three. Sixty. Sixty-one. Sixty-seven. Frame one in under six minutes. Seventy-five. Had to break off. He'd have to be very careful not to do what he did here. Tapchaya. Should this match go four all in. Eighty-three. Tapchaya coming across. Had to break off. Oh, what a shot. Pulled that off. Yeah. In the middle of four cushions. Now, attention all pockets here. Yes. No. Thought it was going up in the top right. Eighty-six. I'm not crying. Four-three. Tough shot. With that shot, you know that the red's never going to go far away from the pocket if you do miss it. Eleven. A little quiet spell. Here's his chance to take this match to a decider. It'd be great to see for the neutral if he did. Twenty. Slightly awkward cueing. No problem there. Tapchaya, which in sport you don't see very often. Twenty-eight. He's somebody that people root for, you know. They see something in his game they like. They see a personality they like. They see him come in and greet the spectators with a little bow and due respect. Charming and a brilliant player to watch. Well, that's the thing, isn't it? I mean, he's so entertaining. Win or lose, he's such an asset. Forty-six. To the game. You're to a place, but did enough. He remains where he is right now because he's great to watch. From his own point of view, it would be even better if he could become a more regular winner. Because he's proved he can beat the very best when he's on his game. He's already taken care of Mark Allen, the player of the season in the ranking events. Just care required now to make sure he gets the points he needs here to force the decider. Fifty-nine. Sixty. Yes, and he's almost done that already. It's his frame ball. Seven minutes odd. Sixty-eight. And it's all done. I'm already thinking about his break-off shot in the next. Because, like I say, it was his only shot in the previous frame. So what will he do? He's got to counteract that. He can't bring the red down again. But that will all be dealt with in the fullness of time. Chuck Trump has played his most fluent snooker since the 1-4-7 in his second match. Eighty-four. Ninety. Ninety-one. Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight. That's for his fourth century. And it is not disappointed. One hundred and four. Thank you. We are now in shoot-out territory. That should certainly favour Tep Chaya, a former champion in that regard. On the frame. The blue doesn't matter. The century already secured. Final frame to determine who will move through to the semi-finals. Yeah, but the red hasn't gone this far down the table. So that's a good break-off shot. Breathtaking. Surely he likes to whip in with a bit of side. A bit like this one. Oh, no. There you see, what I was saying earlier about the cue speed through the ball, which generates all that topspin. That's a nicely executed shot. But now, keep it on the side rail. Relief for Tep Chaya, who knew that the missed green hasn't proved fatal in this huge decider for him. Looks like he's got there. Good shot. Hit it too thick. It's a mistake. Eight. There's an example of all those things in one shot. I mean, I thought it was in. I have to be honest, the speed he played it, I felt it would just fall in off the jaw. Well, it's not an ideal table for Trump. With black and pink out of commission. Six. Seven. Twelve. Trump having to put a lot of mileage on that cue ball. Eighteen. Judd Trump. Eighteen. So, Tep Chaya breathes again after the missed blue. A mistake. Nervy, to say the least, isn't it? I mean, the way he played it, very unlike him to be so hell-bent on getting that cue ball up the table. Possibly wise in the decider, but people's mindset changes when it comes to the crunch. Which is why we love the game, I guess. Judd now looking to get the cue ball back there as well on this shot. Wow. It's a complete lack of control on that shot. Twelve. Five. So, the shot that Judd played, I think he felt that the cue ball was the only priority there. The red hitting two bold colours on the way. The red by the black will be something that Judd Trump is pinning his hopes on. Thirty. A lot of tension here. Seemingly, he's playing well enough to go very deep, if he can win this match. Nine. Twenty. Twenty-six. Twenty-seven. Of course, the option is there to play the snooker if all else fails, but that really wouldn't be his first plan. He wants to win it here and now. Thirty-four. Well, it's an interesting shot. He might be able to screw over towards the red here directly. Big shot. Forty. Well, he must have played, I guess, the cannon on the black, but he would have been very close to the red anyway. It's a very intricate cannon he was playing, to be honest. It's hard to see that he did an easy shot at the red. So, it's nervy. It really is. Seventy. Enormous shot there. Forty. The only good news is he did... to leave it. That was a huge shot to be playing. Especially as he didn't look very happy about it. Oh, dear. That was lucky. It's very tense. And, in this case, frame nine of nine. We love all this. Things get very twitchy. Not difficult by any means to hit. Push them all down the table here from the cushion. Well, well, well. It didn't seem that difficult to push it onto a cushion. If Judd can get a red-pink, he won't need the black. Blue would be something. I think he's played on a high-value colour here. Let's see where he finishes. It's such a great effort. Not everyone's remembered the green goes... where it does. Nine. Thirteen. Absolutely... dead straight, that is. Look. Doesn't want to end up not... taking this to a black ball finish. Not happy with the contact, I think. This is the wrong side of the table to be playing this shot, really. He... did not want to be getting the rest out for this shot. This is really tense. Well, there's one point in it. So, Ted Charr and Nou will need the black as well. Six. Pretty good. He needs to have insurance policy. It's out of his hands for the moment. To be honest, he missed it by an absolute mile. Judd Trump needs this black to force a respotted black. Judd Trump, seven. Pitching shot. If it's played properly, that... shot that Judd did, and he has. He can't even play a double into a corner. It's me, the double kisses. It's horrible, but it's not easy. This is... nothing's easy. Seems to me, right now. Now, where's the black going to end up? It's going to end up in a... wonderful position. What a match it's been. Who would deny Ted Charr this moment? Seven. An incredible finale. Ted Charr and Nou. He's into the last open in sensational fashion by five frames to four.