Judd Trump v John Higgins LIVE snooker: Score and updates from UK Championship last 16

Judd Trump criticised the table conditions despite reeling off five frames in a row to beat Neil Robertson 6-3 and seal his place in the last 16 of the UK Championship in York.

The world number one struggled desperately through the opening stages before belatedly finding his range with successive breaks of 73, 126 and 67 helping to keep alive his hopes of winning his first UK title since 2011.

Asked in his post-match interview if they were the worst conditions in which he had played, Trump said: “I’ve played in some bad conditions, but that was close.

“It’s disappointing as it seems to be the bigger events. It was very heavy all the time. I’ve always struggled here because the tables are so heavy.

“Hopefully they can change them. All the players have been struggling – hopefully they can do something about it.”

Throw in a captivating, swashbuckling, seemingly effortless style of play that means The Rocket’s reputation as a sporting genius has long since transcended snooker’s narrow confines, and GOAT status is undisputed.

So perhaps it should come as no surprise that, in an exclusive interview with The Independent, he reveals that he yearns to be more like those who came before him.

Standing in Trump’s way is Neil Robertson. The Scot has been similarly prolific throughout his career, racking up 31 ranking event titles to sit third on the all-time list behind only Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry (Trump is fourth).

The 49-year-old briefly dropped out of the world’s top 16 for the first time in 30 years earlier this season but has fought his way back in and will be hoping for a run in York.

Higgins is a four-time world champion and three-time UK champion, although it is now almost four years since he last won a ranking event by triumphing at the Players Championship in February 2021. He also has a surprisingly appalling recent record at the UK Championship, with three quarter-final losses in the past 14 years his best returns.

The Scot did impressively down talented youngster He Guoqiang 6-0 in the previous round and said he’s feeling more confident in his game than he has for a long time.

This should be an absolute cracker this afternoon. In one corner, we have Judd Trump who has been snooker’s most consistent force over the past couple of seasons.

He’s currently world No 1, and hundreds of thousands of pounds ahead of his rivals on that list due to racking up seven tournament victories in the last 15 months.

Of course, the knock on Trump will always be that he doesn’t win enough of ‘the big ones’. He ‘only’ has four victories at snooker’s triple crown events (the World Championship, UK Championship and Masters) and he is trying to win the UK Champs here in York this week for just the second time, after his 2011 success.

He downed Neil Robertson 6-3 in the first round and will fancy his chances of reaching the quarter-finals given his stellar recent record agianst John Higgins

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the UK Snooker Championship in York, where Judd Trump faces John Higgins in a tasty last-16 clash this afternoon.

Stick with us for all the action.