Judd Trump
Judd Trump made the first maximum break of his career with a brilliant 147 at the Antwerp Open in Belgium, but lost the match 4-3 to Mark Selby.

 

Trump is a prolific break-builder who made 61 centuries last season so it's perhaps surprising that it has taken him eight years as a professional, but he is now a member of the elite 147 club.

 

The Bristol left-hander's break came in the third frame of his last 32 match against Mark Selby at the Lotto Arena, when he was 2-0 down. He potted 15 reds with blacks and cleared the colours to the delight of the Belgian crowd.

 

Trump's break is worth £3,500 from the rolling prize pot for European Tour events, providing it is not equalled over the weekend.

 

It's the 99th official maximum in snooker history and the first since Neil Robertson's at the Wuxi Classic qualifiers last May. The 100th 147 can't be far away and it will be a great milestone for snooker.

 

Selby won the fourth frame to lead 3-1 then Trump battled back to 3-3. He was on for another 147 in frame six but, with the balls in awkward positions, missed a tough penultimate red on 104. And it was UK and Masters champion Selby who had the last laugh with a break of 80 to win the deciding frame, earning a place in the last 16 on Sunday.

 

Ding Junhui, winner of the last three ranking events, was in fine form again, particularly in a 4-2 defeat of Ali Carter in the last 32 which featured breaks of 103, 82 and 54.

 

Jack Lisowksi scored a trio of wins to reach the last 16, including a 4-2 defeat of Fergal O'Brien which featured breaks of 68, 75, 57 and 85. Ryan Day saw off Scott Donaldson 4-2 in the last 32 with a top run of 95.

 

India's Aditya Mehta edged out Alfie Burden 4-3 with a high break of 81. Crowd favourite Tony Drago enjoyed a welcome return to form, beating Andrew Pagett 4-1 in his third match with high breaks of 60, 64 and 66. Mark Williams won three matches without conceding a frame, scoring a century and seven more breaks over 50 in his hat-trick of 4-0 victories. International Championship runner-up Marco Fu was the last winner of the night, beating Ricky Walden 4-1.