Judd Trump closes in on first World Championship title

Judd Trump and John Higgins starred in one of the great Crucible sessions as the 29-year-old former moved two frames away from claiming his first World Championship title in Sheffield.

Both Trump and Higgins came close to maximum breaks and the pair shattered the sport's century records as Trump converted a 12-5 overnight lead into a 16-9 advantage heading into the evening session.

Three more three-figure breaks took the total ton count for the match to a new record of 11, while Trump's tally of seven took him level with Ding Junhui for the most by one player.

A remarkable session was book-ended by two brave maximum bids, with Higgins potting all the reds including an outrageous double before missing an easy final black with the colours at his mercy.

Then it was Trump's turn in the final frame of the session as he potted 13 reds and blacks before running slightly out of position and knocking the penultimate red into the middle jaws.

In between, Trump continued the stunning form he had exhibited in Sunday's first two sessions despite Higgins doing all he could to heap pressure on his opponent by taking the first two frames of the day.

Trump duly responded with breaks of 101 and 74 to restore his lead to seven frames at the mid-session interval, then rattled in his sixth of the match with a 126 to go 15-7 in front.

Higgins looked in grave danger of losing the match with a session to spare but he dug deep to score successive breaks of 67 and 70 in a session which did not see a frame without a half-century.

There was still time for Trump to embark on his own maximum bid much to Higgins' amusement as the curtain came down on a session which has few equals in the history of the game.

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