Judd Trump felt “unlucky” as Neil Robertson won a dramatic five-and-a-half hour battle 6-4, setting up a Champion of Champions semi-final with Mark Williams.

Robertson took a 3-1 lead, but Trump showed his resilience to restore parity. The Australian, however, edged two marathon frames and avoided Trump’s fightback to secure a possible victory in Bolton.

And Trump, who came agonizingly close to forcing a deciding match in a mammoth 10th frame, rued what he saw as bad luck in the quarterfinal clash.

“Not much to say actually,” he told ITV. “I thought I was really unlucky. Neil knows he didn’t deserve to win like that, but it happens.

“You had a good spell to go 3-1 up and after that he had a few chances, missed quite a few long balls and got to safety every time, just one of those days.

“I love Neil, but there was a lot of slow play, he’s a much better player when he gets going. I hope he continues for the rest of the tournament.

“It would be nice to see him win again, he’s a great player, he just got a little bogged down there.”

Trump started in the same elegant style as he ousted Ding Junhui earlier in the day, moving nicely around the table to get a break of 69 under pressure.

Robertson was not as emphatic en route to the evening clash, missing several chances to seal a straight-up victory over Ali Carter before surrendering a 3-1 lead to go to a decider.

But his setting up of the seventh frame was exquisite, and he found that form again to pit Trump, restoring parity with a strong 90 unanswered contribution.

The Thunder Down Under were really in their groove from the start at Bolton and capitalized on some poor security from Trump to put together another run, seeking a frame advantage.

Robertson looked confident among the balls and showed his undoubted quality with an excellent long red, adding a delicate black to launch another impressive break of 84.

That was enough to seal the match and put the Australian 2-1 ahead, as the world number 1 was forced to sit back and watch as the quarter-final clash seemed to slip away from him.

Robertson’s dominance continued as he carded a rushing 59 before finally collapsing on a red right corner, allowing Trump to come back.

But the Shanghai Masters and Saudi Arabia Masters champion could only cut Robertson’s lead by nine points before himself missing an opportunity he would usually have missed with aplomb – a black crashing out of place.

The Thunder made no mistake in taking a 3-1 lead, continuing a torrid night for Trump who, at this point, saw his success at a modest 82%, according to ITV.

But Trump made the most of the interval, looking rejuvenated as he quickly went ahead for 3-2 with little response from Robertson.

The world number 1 began to turn more to the mat, aiming to equalize and achieve a break of 41 to lead the sixth quarter.

And while Robertson posted a reply of 56, a poor effort left a free yellow which Trump sank, before then closing out the scrappy match for 3-3.

The high-octane clash still left room for twists and turns, and the pendulum swung back in favor of the Australian, who regained the advantage after launching Trump into a 53-point race in which No. 1 was unable to launch.

Robertson moved closer to victory after outscoring a mammoth 56-minute frame, which saw Trump enter a stampede that lasted more than 40 minutes.

The Ace took a 25-point lead, but his counterpart managed to take a 69-62 advantage until a fierce battle between pink and black ensued.

Trump was placed unfavorably behind black on the side cushion with pink at the other end of the table, but he moved a few inches to 4-4 as he crashed into the right-most center jaw , allowing Robertson to head home a 5-3 lead.

The Englishman, however, ensured that the evening’s showdown stretched beyond three hours, once again fighting from behind to reduce Robertson’s lead to the solitary frame, in a much more direct manner.

Trump found an opening with the red-black combination to make it 57, with Robertson conceding the frame and the momentum of the match changing once again.

And after another marathon, Robertson finally scored an incredible victory over the world No. 1.

Both men delicately showed off their deft touches, trading evenly in a huge safety battle while Robertson missed three separate chances to race to victory.

But he eventually managed to seal it, with Trump leaving the maroon hanging over the bottom right pocket for an easy nick, before Robertson smashed a huge blue from mid-range – leaving the door open for a pink and a simpler black to seal his place in the semi-finals. against Williams.

“An incredible match,” said Robertson. “Judd showed all his qualities there with the great champion he had been. His whole career really but especially these last 18 months.

“His safety play, his discipline, everything was incredible. I rose to the occasion, I maintained my discipline. I started the match well.”