2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters: World number one Judd Trump produces huge comeback win

Winner of the Shanghai Masters in July and runner-up at the Xi'an Grand Prix last month, Trump arrived in the Middle East in great form and back on top of snooker’s professional rankings.

However, the 35-year-old found himself in big trouble very early on in this new £2.3 million ranking event - the most lucrative professional snooker tournament ever to be held outside of the United Kingdom - as he trailed world number 43 Wu by four frames to nil at the mid-session interval.

A winner of 28 career ranking titles - including five within the past 11 months - Trump made uncharacteristic mistake after mistake, failed to find a rhythm, had a highest break of 32, and was duly punished by his 20-year-old opponent from China across the opening four frames.

During the mid-session interval, Trump admitted to looking up flights home, but on resumption, momentum began to shift and he strung together five consecutive frames along with breaks of 56, 101, 61, 89 and 55 to complete a remarkable recovery act.

Wu - who had openings in frames five and six - did not score a single point in the final three frames.

Top 16 stars including Mark Allen and Mark Selby exit at the first hurdle

Trump managed to survive his first assignment in Saudi, but five of the eight top 16 stars who began their campaigns on Tuesday afternoon in round five didn’t.

The first winner of the afternoon was Scott Donaldson, who eliminated world number 16 Barry Hawkins, 5-1, compiling century breaks of 111 and 115 in the process.

Donaldson - the world number 50 - had to withdraw from the Xi'an Grand Prix last month due to medical reasons, so the £30,000 he is now guaranteed both in prize money and ranking points will be very welcome.

There was a barrage of big breaks in the match between Gary Wilson and David Gilbert, with the reigning Scottish and Welsh Open Champion Wilson winning, 5-2.

Having lost the opening frame on the black, runs of 103 and 137 in back-to-back frames for Gilbert put him 2-1 up and having reached the 400 career centuries landmark. However, world number 11 Wilson racked up contributions of 73, 92, 125 and 102 in a devastating four-frame burst to book his place in Wednesday's last 16.

Yuan Sijun made a 120 break in frame two to level up against Shaun Murphy, but the 2005 World Champion Murphy won four of the next five frames - helped by breaks of 91, 52, 84 and 56 - to record a 5-2 victory.

The final four results from the afternoon session at the Green Halls all went against the top 16 seeds.

Mark Allen - who was recently replaces as the world number one by Trump - went out 5-1 to Xiao Guodong.

Allen made a 104 break in frame three but that was his only real high point as world number 35 Xiao finished off with a counter clearance of 60 to win on the final black in frame six.

Another seed soon departed as Elliot Slessor resisted a rally from Ali Carter to get over the line a 5-3 winner.

World number 42 Slessor went 4-0 up, but Carter - winner of the season's opening ranking event at the Championship League - mounted a comeback after the mid-session interval with breaks of 55, 68 and 103.

Slessor, though, kept cool under the increasing pressure, constructing a 74 break to advance and guarantee the biggest payday of his professional snooker career so far.

Jack Lisowksi only just squeezed through his opening match in round three on Sunday when he defeated Andrew Pagett on the final pink in a deciding frame. Now, Lisowski is in the last 16 after dispatching World Championship runner-up Jak Jones 5-3, helped by runs of 72, 55 and 62.

The biggest glamour tie of round five in Riyadh did not fail to impress as career Triple Crown winners Neil Robertson and Mark Selby both compiled two century breaks each.

Robertson - currently the lower ranked of the two and outside the world's elite bracket - won the opening frame with a 115 and went into the mid-session interval 3-1 up following a 114.

On their return, Selby made 126 and 104 in successive frames to square the contest at 3-3, but efforts of 82 in frame seven and 69 in frame eight assisted Robertson into the last 16.

For the draw, results and other important details, please visit our 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Tournament Information Centre, here.