UK Championship (2011) Day 6 - Judd and Robbo set a replay, Allen survives Fu force

Unstoppable Trump reaches semis

We've come a long way since the beginning of this lovely tournament and lots and lots of matches have entertained us. Now, it is time to see who will be delighting us during the final stages of the UK Championship and I dare to say we are in for a great snooker treat.

Judd Trump managed to beat Scotland's Stephen Maguire 6-3 in order to book himself a place in the semis, where Neil Robertson is waiting. The Australian got there by defeating Ding Junhui 6-2 and it will definitely be an interesting encounter between him and Juddy, since they met last during the first round of the 2011 World Championship, when Neil was defending champion and the Bristol boy was beating him 10-8.

Maguire goes home

The evening session saw a very determined Ricky Walden wiping up the floor with the 2005 world champion, Shaun Murphy 6-3, while Mark Allen survived Marco Fu's comeback and won the decider 6-5.

The Englishman Judd Trump found no trouble whatsoever in defeating Scotland's Stephen Maguire and winner of the 2004 UK Championship by six frames to three.
Judd fired in breaks of 72, 62, 43 and two great 106 to put himself out there near the finish line at 5-1 up. Maguire tried to make a comeback, but he only managed to pull back two frames with runs of 62 and 80, a deathly 120 hit by Trump during the very next frame putting an end to Maguire's run.

Robbo to set snooker replay with Trump in semis

At the other table Neil Robertson was rocking. He was the one to break the ice with a steady 55 break, only to see Ding hit back with a 66 clearance.

But when the Australian fired in runs of 101, 41 and 67 for a 3-2 lead, the little Chinese seemed lost. Not being able to focus and missing some quite easy balls, Robertson took advantage and hit a 56 and a 79 to seal a 6-2 victory that was sending him in the semi-finals to meet a "dear" opponent.

At the end of the day the only player that got into this year's UK Championship by firstly going through the qualifiers is Ricky Walden. The man from Chester defeated Shaun Murphy 6-3 for a well deserved place in the semis.

Ricky Walden is on fire

Walden was going to take the opener with a great 70, to which Murphy replayed with an 84 clearance to draw level and with runs of 42 and 30 to take the lead 2-1. Still, at the interval, the lads were all square up at 2-2 after Walden hit a 67.

After the 15-minutes break the 2008 Shanghai Masters champion took his chances with a series of 67, 34, 55, 35 and 25 to go 5-2 up. Just one step away from victory, while Murphy was kept in his chair most of the time.
Still, the 2005 world champion did manage to hit a 61 break during the next frame and pull back one.

Murphy's run ends in the QFs

However, that came a bit too late, as a clear 71 was winning Walden the 9^th frame and also the match. 

At table number two, Mark Allen and Marco Fu were treating the snooker loopies with a really entertaining match. A match that went all the way to the last frame.

Breaks of 52 and 40 were guaranteeing Allen the first two frames of the match, while the man who took down Bingham and Selby seemed nowhere to be found. Oh, wait a minute! He's back! A nice and steady series of 73 and 61 were levelling the match for Fu just as the interval was kicking off.

It was a hard battle, but Allen prevailed

After the "let's drink a tea, let's eat some scones", the lads returned to the arena only to see a certain pattern being followed. Allen took the first two frames (again!), this time by hitting in breaks of 63 and 51. And just like before, Fu fought back to draw level at 4-4 with a great 131 and a 63.

But this time something was different for the one that put his nose in front next wasn't going to be the Northern Ireland's boy, but the one from Hong Kong. Fu was now 5-4 ahead and with a great chance to win the match as the 10^th frame started.

A great run for Fu, that sadly had to end

Unfortunately for Marco he lost position on 25, Allen coming to the table for a 66 that was bringing the match into a decider. Two visits to the table later and breaks of 36 and 55 and Mark Allen was flying safely into the semi-finals. 
It was a great effort from Fu's part, but Allen prevailed so he can meet with Ricky Walden and try his luck to reach the final.

Below you can check Day 6 list of results:

The semis start today and will be played under the rule of "best of 17".

12.30
7pm
*all hours are UK time

TV coverage:
Also, you can watch the lads online at www.sportlemon.tv and at mypremium.tv