It was a disappointing night for Chinese snooker on Saturday when UK Championships semi-finalists Lu Ning and Zhou Yuelong both lost, missing out on a first career triple crown final. World No 1 Judd Trump made light work of Lu, winning 6-2 to book his place in the final in Milton Keynes. Trump told the BBC he was made to work hard for the win against Lu. “It is nice to get the win but it was hard fought. I did not play brilliantly but scored heavily at times. Hopefully I have saved my best for Sunday,” he said. Out of nowhere, a 1️⃣4️⃣1️⃣ for @yuelong_zhou 5-2 Four centuries in six frames #baizeofglory @betway pic.twitter.com/ljaI6VeRZr — World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) December 5, 2020 Lu was seen hitting himself in the forehead and shaking his head of the final frames of his loss to Trump, though in the bigger picture he has little to be frustrated with. The semi-final was a career best and he has a provisional world ranking of 32, a career best for the 26-year-old. When will Chinese snooker players be in the frame for biggest prizes? Sunday’s final sees Trump play against world No 3 Neil Robertson. The Australian had progressed in the earlier session, also winning 6-2 in his match against Zhou Yuelong. Zhou hit a 141 break, the biggest of their match, but that came with Robertson closing on in a decisive frame and the pressure off. Before that his confidence was shot, especially after potting the cue ball, and no match for the 18-time ranking event winner. Neil Robertson has beaten a "highly-rated player" and "nice guy" in Zhou Yuelong to reach his third UK Championship final! Standing between him and a third title: Judd Trump or Lu Ning, who meet at 7pm. BBC / Eurosport / https://t.co/0mCRoqdsmX #baizeofglory @betway pic.twitter.com/SVBfbTBC0r — World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) December 5, 2020 Robertson was full of praise for Zhou, who he called a “nice guy” and a “highly rated player” after securing the win. Earlier in the week, John Higgins, who Zhou beat in the quarters, talked up the 22-year-old’s career chances. “I really rate him as a player, he‘s a great young player,” the Scottish potter told Eurosport after losing to the world No 23. Judd Trump 1️⃣-1️⃣ Lu Ning Trump bettered a 51 from Lu with a 66 break in the opener. Lu responds with two visits in the next #baizeofglory pic.twitter.com/ALeRjkisfq — World Snooker Tour (@WeAreWST) December 5, 2020 “He wants to improve every time you see him, he‘s always practising and I think he’ll be the next player after Ding [Junhui] to really break through and win a really big tournament. Ding Junhui is the only Asian player to reach the top of the rankings – he was most recently world No 1 in 2015 – and the only one to win any of the sport’s so-called triple crown of the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship. He won his third UK Championship last year to add to a Masters win in 2011 that leaves him a World Championship win from a career triple crown. O’Sullivan prefers China to UK as promoters ‘do not abuse you’ Ding went out to David Grace in the second round this year and hopes of another Chinese winner to follow in his footsteps ended with Saturday’s semi-finals. Higgins said that Zhou might yet have his time, though. “He‘s got a great temperament and all-round game, and he’ll be here for years to come.”
