Judd Trump and Gary Wilson emerged from the first session of their Betfred World Championship semi-final all square at 4-4.

Masters champion Trump is aiming to secure a maiden world title this week, having been tipped as a contender to pick up the Crucible crown since his classic 2011 final with John Higgins. On that occasion, Trump came up short in an 18-15 defeat. The Ace in the Pack hasn’t featured in a World Championship final since then and will be aiming to put that right by beating Wilson over the next three days.

World number 32 Wilson is competing in the one-table setup for the first time, having enjoyed a fairytale run so far. He booked his place at the Theatre of Dreams by coming through qualifying and is the fifth lowest-ranked player ever to reach the World Championship semi-finals.

The former taxi driver from Wallsend won the longest frame in Crucible history to defeat Luca Brecel 10-9 in the opening round. He followed that up with a superb 13-10 victory against three-time World Champion Mark Selby and a 13-9 win over Ali Carter.

Trump had the first scoring opportunity of the game, but his run ended on 46. Wilson stepped in and compiled a break of 61, but broke down and allowed Trump to clear the colours and move 1-0 up.

Wilson then restored parity, before a sublime break of 140 saw him take to the front at 2-1. However, 10-time ranking event winner Trump responded swiftly with a break of 54 on his way to claiming the fourth frame and levelling at 2-2.

The pair continued to trade frames. With the score at 3-3 Trump missed a straightforward red to the middle and allowed Wilson to step in and move 4-3 ahead.

Trump then ensured that the first session ended level, composing a break of 54 on his way to making it 4-4. They will return tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 pm to play the second session of the best of 33 encounters.

Source: World Snooker