Judd Trump shows true colours with private message to Mark Williams after loss

showed his class when congratulating just moments after their semi-final clash. The world No. 1 was beaten 17-14 on Saturday evening, with Williams continuing his impressive run through the tournament with a relentless display at the Crucible.

Trump raced into an early 7-3 before Williams began to find his rhythm, closing the deficit to 10-9. The Welshman then won four of the next five frames to take a 13-11 lead into the evening session.

Williams hit the ground running upon his return to the table and headed into the mid-session interval needing just one frame to progress into the final, despite witnessing an impressive century from Trump just moments before. Trump then hit his 107th century of the season before Williams' clearance of 124 sealed his spot in the final against Zhao Xintong.

Speaking after his victory, Williams revealed that Trump wasted no time in congratulating the 50-year-old on his performance. He told the BBC: "When I shook Judd's hand at the end he said some lovely words.

"He said 'It's unbelievable that you're still going at your age. All the best, I hope you win it. I don't know how you're doing it but brilliant'. I suppose he's got to because he's beaten me so many times."

Trump also heaped praise on Williams when discussing his defeat, crediting the veteran for being the better player on the day. He said: "I didn't do much wrong, a few little mistakes on safety, it wasn't quite firing but it wasn't that far off. When you play someone as good as Mark, everything is magnified.

"The difference was just at the crucial moments, he potted them and I didn't. There were a couple of times - a big frame at 7-3 and a big frame to go 11-9 - where I had a really good chance. I just didn't quite find what I had in the first few games, Mark was the more consistent player throughout and in the end he really deserved the win.

"If my best is good enough, that's amazing, if it's not, I'll go back again next year. There are no negatives, I tried my heart out and just ran out of steam. I probably would have preferred to peak as the tournament went on, I probably started off too well. Any other player apart from Mark and I probably would have been in the final, so I think you just have to take your hat off to him, he was too good over the three days and I'll try to improve for next year."