The quest for a second world title after 2019 got off to a stuttering start for Trump. In the opening session, Wilson had him under pressure for long spells, but with determination and a few flukes, Trump managed to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead.
Wilson started with great focus and capitalised on his first opportunity after a Trump error in the opening frame, making a break of 77. In the second frame, Trump got nicely into the balls but missed a tough blue after scoring 47.
Despite a tricky table and several attempts, Wilson eventually deservedly took the frame with some excellent pots and solid break-building.
Trump battles his way into the match
Trump also made the first break in the third frame after Wilson committed a foul during a safety attempt. The world number one then put together a break of 60, but the frame was far from over.
After a tactical exchange, Wilson had a chance to steal the third frame as well, but lost position after 22 points. Trump was able to see out his first frame win.
However, he couldn't go into the interval level. Both Wilson and the 36-year-old star missed several chances before Wilson punished a poor attempt at a combination from Trump to move 3-1 ahead.
Wilson continued to be the better player after the mid-session interval, underlining his strong performance with a total clearance of 139.
Big breaks were few and far between for Trump. Although he reduced the deficit to 4-2, he needed several attempts and had to fight hard for his frames rather than impressing with fluent play.
In the seventh frame, Wilson again took advantage of a Trump mistake and pulled so far ahead that the world number one needed snookers.
But Trump showed his fighting spirit, forced a foul after a tight snooker, and then cleared the table with some excellent shots to make it 3-4 instead of 2-5.
Trump dominated the final frames of the session, but also rode his luck. In both frames, he only got into the balls thanks to some fortunate flukes – but he finished the breaks impressively.
A century break of 128 brought him level, and a 77 in the last frame saw him take the lead for the first time at the end of the session. The match between the two Englishmen will be decided this evening.
Wakelin leads debutant Pullen
On the other table, Wakelin leads debutant Pullen 5-4. Pullen took the opening frame with a break of 57 and could have gone 2-0 up, as after a 63 break, Wakelin could only have caught up with the help of foul points.
That’s exactly what the world number 13 managed to force, snatching the frame from under Pullen’s nose.
That had an effect. Wakelin also took the next two frames and went into the interval 3-1 up, without producing any big breaks.
Pullen, however, took the fifth frame on the colours and reduced the deficit to 2-3 after the mid-session interval.
The final four frames of the session were shared. Wakelin made breaks of 66 and 82, while his opponent responded with runs of 97 and 58. The match will be decided tomorrow.