World Snooker Championship 2025: Mark Williams leads Judd Trump ahead of tense semi-final decider in Sheffield
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By Tom Cantoni
Published 03/05/2025 at 13:15 GMT+1
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Judd Trump and Mark Williams will return for the fourth and final session of their captivating World Snooker Championship semi-final at 19:00 on Saturday. Mark Williams has a 13-11 lead after producing a superb display in an enthralling third session in Sheffield. The pair are playing for a place in the final against Zhao Xintong at The Crucible, starting Sunday.
Williams shows his class in opening frame of third session against Trump
Video credit: TNT Sports
Mark Williams is in a commanding position in the semi-finals of the 2025 World Snooker Championship, leading Judd Trump 13-11 after three sessions.
The two players began the morning locked in at eight frames apiece, after Williams' Friday fightback from 7-3 down.
The Welshman started Saturday strong, winning the opening frame of the day to build on Friday’s positive finish. At 8-9, the three-time champion had won six of the last seven frames.
But current world number one Trump responded in style to level the scoring at 9-9, concluding two early frames of high-class snooker.
"Very switched on this morning, both of them," Philip Studd noted on TNT Sports' commentary.
Having gone 10-9 up, Trump looked set for an 11-9 advantage - but he missed the red in what felt like a real turning point in the match.
Williams capitalised with a brilliant green, before clinching the frame to level the scoring 10-10.
Both players were evidently up for it, but could not be separated by the interval after four top-quality frames.
That missed red from Trump in the 20th felt ever more costly as Williams powered on to win the next two, taking a 12-10 lead.
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Both players appeared to remark about the chilly conditions inside The Crucible - a factor perhaps felt most by a seated Trump, who went over 27 minutes without potting a ball as Williams racked up more than 200 unanswered points.
The Welshman continued to inflict damage from long range, playing with an air of confidence to put his opponent under pressure.
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Williams produces ‘yet another great long pot’ in virtuoso display against Trump
Video credit: TNT Sports
As you may expect from a previous world champion, Trump refused to go down without a fight in the penultimate frame of the third session, producing a break of 64 - enough for Williams to concede and bring the match back to just one frame.
But Williams produced further quality to wrap up the 24th and take a two-frame lead heading into the fourth and final session.
Trump and Williams will resume their battle this evening, in what promises to be a special night of snooker.
The fourth and deciding session gets underway at 19:00 live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
The winner will go head-to-head with Zhao Xintong in the final at The Crucible, starting Sunday.
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Trump drops ‘very clean’ long-range pot in high-calibre semi-final against Williams
Video credit: TNT Sports
Watch and stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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