JUDD TRUMP trounced injury-hit Hossein Vafaei 5-0 in their quarter-final clash at the World Grand Prix.
Walking wounded Vafaei reached his first ranking tournament quarter-final of the season despite “playing with one hand” and a “numb tongue”.
Judd Trump thrashed Hossein Vafaei 5-0 at the World Grand Prix
But Vafaei battled through debilitating pain
Vafaei was parachuted into the draw to replace Ronnie O’Sullivan’s withdrawal
But the Iranian was ultimately dispatched by Trump, who had breaks of 145, 108, 115 and 146 in an outstanding display of potting in 64 minutes.
Vafaei, who is playing through the pain of a spinal problem, scored just 31 points in the match.
Trump set up a semi-final with Stuart Bingham, who overcame a slight injury himself from 4-2 down to beat Mark Selby 5-4.
And fans think the world No.1 produced one of the best performances of his career.
One wrote: “That’s got to be a record for two of the highest breaks by the same player in a match?”
But Jimmy White and Ronnie O’Sullivan both made consecutive maximum breaks in an exhibition match in 2009.
Yet a 146 is not seen very often – it was the 37th in professional snooker history and the first Trump has made.
Before losing to Trump in the last-eight, Vafaei revealed the crippling pain he is suffering in his neck and shoulder due to a problematic disc in his upper spine.
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The Prince of Persia – who had acupuncture pre-match to cure the agony – said: “Honestly, I’m playing with one hand right now. My neck and shoulder, I’m in so much pain.
“I’m always fighting for my fans. I was thinking, if I would pull out, what would I do? Sit on the chair and watch them?
“At least I can go out there and try and see what happens. Honestly, I am in so much pain.
“It’s unbelievable. When I’m in my chair, my hand is shaking, my left arm is completely numb.
“I have to continue with the acupuncture. They put electricity on top of the needles. It gives a shock to my nerves.
“I haven’t had time to get a MRI. I have done a CT scan. I have to do treatment and exercises.
“After this tournament, I’ll go back to Iran and see the Olympic team doctor.”
Follow the World Grand Prix in SunSport’s live blog.
Vafaei was parachuted into the draw of the World Grand Prix last Saturday when O’Sullivan pulled out due to medical reasons.
He added: “After Yushan, I had to go to Shanghai and then Chengdu to renew my contract with my sponsor.
“Then all of a sudden, they emailed me to say ‘are you ready?’ I had time.
“My visa for Hong Kong was ready. Happy days. I was not happy for my friend Ronnie.
“I hope he is healthy. I don’t want anything bad to happen to him.”
Shaun Murphy knocked out John Higgins 5-3 and will face Neil Robertson in the last-four.
Robertson also beat Xiao Guodong by the same scoreline on Friday.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
1969 – John Spencer
1970 – Ray Reardon
1971 – John Spencer
1972 – Alex Higgins
1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
1977 – John Spencer (2)
1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
1979 – Terry Griffiths
1980 – Cliff Thorburn
1981 – Steve Davis
1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
1983 – Steve Davis (2)
1984 – Steve Davis (3)
1985 – Dennis Taylor
1986 – Joe Johnson
1987 – Steve Davis (4)
1988 – Steve Davis (5)
1989 – Steve Davis (6)
1990 – Stephen Hendry
1991 – John Parrott
1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
1997 – Ken Doherty
1998 – John Higgins
1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
2000 – Mark Williams
2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
2002 – Peter Ebdon
2003 – Mark Williams (2)
2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
2005 – Shaun Murphy
2006 – Graeme Dott
2007 – John Higgins (2)
2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
2009 – John Higgins (3)
2010 – Neil Robertson
2011 – John Higgins (4)
2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
2014 – Mark Selby
2015 – Stuart Bingham
2016 – Mark Selby (2)
2017 – Mark Selby (3)
2018 – Mark Williams (3)
2019 – Judd Trump
2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
2021 – Mark Selby (4)
2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
2023 – Luca Brecel
2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
2 – Alex Higgins
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