Zhang has won two of six previous meetings with Trump
Zhang Anda is on course to spring a huge surprise in the final of the BetVictor English Open as he leads Judd Trump 5-3 after the first session in Brentwood.
The pair return at 7pm on Sunday night, with first to nine frames to lift the Steve Davis Trophy and bank £80,000. Trump started strong favourite against a player who had never been past the quarter-finals of a ranking event before this week, but Zhang controlled much of the session and in fact led 5-1 before losing the last two frames.
Trump will need to win six of the last nine to capture his first ranking title in 19 months and 24th in all, which would move him into sixth place on his own on the all-time list, one ahead of Neil Robertson and just one behind Mark Williams. The 34-year-old from Bristol is playing in his 39th ranking final and second of the season having finished runner-up to Barry Hawkins at the BetVictor European Masters in August.
The left-hander is aiming to win the English Open title for a second time having beaten Neil Robertson in the 2020 final. Currently ranked fifth, he will move up one place to fourth regardless of today’s result. On the one-year list, he will move up to second place if he wins the title, and third if he finishes runner-up. Victory would put him top of the BetVictor Series rankings, otherwise he will remain second behind Hawkins after three of the eight events.
Zhang has minimal experience on the big stage compared to his opponent, though he did appear at the Crucible in 2010, 2015 and 2016. He turned pro in 2009 and has been on tour for most of the 14 years since, but had previously reached just three ranking event quarter-finals. The 31-year-old from China is enjoying the best week of his snooker life, notably knocking out Ronnie O’Sullivan in the last 16.
The top prize would boost Zhang from 57th to 30th in the rankings, while the £35,000 second prize would leave him 40th. Victory would vault him to fourth spot on the one-year list and also earn him a place in next month’s Champion of Champions.
Zhang took the opening frame with a break of 45. The second came down to the last red and Trump was fortunate to fluke a snooker when escaping from another, and from the chance that followed he levelled at 1-1. The Englishman scored just one point in the next three frames as Zhang dominated with top breaks of 85 and 128 to lead 4-1.
Trump had a scoring chance in frame six but scored just 6 before mis-cueing when trying to pot a short range red. Zhang’s runs of 43 and 33 were enough to extend his advantage. In Saturday’s semi-finals, Trump came from 5-2 down to beat John Higgins 6-5, and he will hope he now has the momentum for another fight back. He took the last two frames of the afternoon with breaks of 56 and 120 to leave the contest perfectly poised.
