The German Masters audience applauded Sam Craigie for pointing out a foul he had committed against Judd Trump in his semifinal match. For the first time in his career, Craigie had advanced to the final four of a rankings tournament; nevertheless, when he was about to lose, he remained loyal to himself and showed his opponent some class.

Craigie was at the table in the Berlin first-to-six match, behind 5-2, and he had to make the visit matter. He was behind 18 to 10, and after rolling in a red, he had a nice angle on the black, but he was stopped by a red that was right behind the cue ball.

To begin a much-needed huge break, the 30-year-old needed to build a challenging bridge over the red as he focused on the black. Craigie missed the shot, sending the black flying wide of the pocket, but not before he signaled to the referee that he had fouled.

He informed the referee that, while constructing a bridge to take the shot, he had inadvertently touched the red with his cue. Although the referee could not see any foul play, he was prepared to penalize Craigie for taking responsibility.

The Tempodrom crowd cheered Craigie for his honesty, even though it might have meant the end of his tournament, and he was later given four more points as he went back to the table.

Despite not playing at his best in the semifinal, Trump did go on to clean the table and guarantee his spot in Sunday’s final against Si Jiahui. If Craigie hadn’t done the right thing and called a foul on himself, even though he knew it would probably mean the end of his German Masters career, things might have even turned out very differently.

In order to set up a match against Trump, whom he had defeated twice in their previous four encounters, Craigie defeated top seed Ali Carter 5-1. He lost the opening frame, though, due to a nervous start, but he bounced back swiftly to draw the match.

After Trump’s 48-hour rest was cut short by a black in the jaws, he was given the chance to take the lead, but a bad in-off gave Trump the opportunity to take the lead again. The former world champion then led 4-1 after two more swift breaks.

In the sixth over, Craigie broke the record for the highest break of the game with 71, securing his place in the semi-final. Nevertheless, Trump came back with 75, and in the decisive set, following the 30-year-old’s sincere signal to the uninformed referee that he had committed a foul, he won the sixth frame to set up a matchup with Si.

Despite the fact that Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins haven’t won a title in three years, Judd Trump has declared them to be the “benchmark” in snooker. In order to go to the German Masters final, Trump defeated Higgins, and the 48-year-old has received praise from Trump.

In the quarterfinals in Berlin’s Velodrom, mp defeated Higgins 5-2, recording breaks of 78, 74, 71, and 68 along the way. Despite the fact that he has already won three titles this season, he made a special effort to commend four-time world champion Higgins, who has endured hardships to equal past victories in the latter stages of his career.

Trump likened Higgins and O’Sullivan to two players who serve as role models for their colleagues. Even though the German Masters finalist has recently outperformed him, the 34-year-old compared his own style to Higgins’.

“For the first five or ten years, he was always just getting over the line. Now I am able to do the same,” Trump said regarding Higgins. “Just at the important times, to pot the crucial balls. Today John missed an easy ball to go 3-3 and that was the difference

He remains a terrific benchmark for me. Now that we’re meeting, my level has undoubtedly increased while his has probably just slightly decreased. I can still tell he’s game every time I play him. I’m aware that there will be conflict. He and Ronnie set the standard. I can tell I’m going well if I can defeat that kind of player.”

In order to face Trump, Higgins overcame Mark Allen, but the Northern Ireland star acknowledged that it was “sad” to see Higgins in his current situation. In an attempt to return to his peak performance, he has recruited a sports psychologist. He last experienced triumph in the 2021 Players Championship.

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