Judd Trump into European Masters 2022 second round after overcoming Noppon Saengkham test in 5-2 win

Judd Trump advanced to the second round of the European Masters with a 5-2 win over Noppon Saengkham. Trump, a two-time winner of the competition, took the lead before Saengkham drew level at 1-1 with a century break of 103.

Ad It then looked as though Trump would respond with a century of his own, but the world No. 2 saw his break end at 72 — enough to at least regain the lead.

Snooker'An absolute honour' — Trump and Selby handed MBEs in Queen’s 2022 Birthday Honours List01/06/2022 AT 22:00 He was then aiming to extend his advantage to 3-1 before the mid-session interval, but a miss while on 55 allowed Saengkham a chance to level the score once more. And it appeared Saengkham would do just that, but needing the final black to take the frame — which was a few inches off the side cushion — he left it agonisingly over the pocket, with Trump gratefully returning to the table for the simplest of pots to take a two-frame lead.

After the interval, a tight frame was playing out, but in the end Eurosport co-commentator Alan McManus was left praising some «outstanding» shot-play as Trump sunk a long red before a precise shot on the black helped him win the frame. European Masters LIVE! — Mark Selby to come Exclusive: O'Sullivan 'hated' seventh world title championship that took him to 'dark places' Saengkham was determined to mount a comeback, given he was hardly playing poorly himself, and a 96 in the sixth frame made it 4-2 to give him an outside chance.

There were opportunities in the next frame, too, but Trump held his nerve to win the frame 73-3 and book a second-round meeting with Ashley Hugill thanks to a 5-2 win. — — - Stream top snooker action live on discovery+ and on eurosport.co.uk, including the European Masters