Snooker: Judd Trump clinched the Ladbrokes Players Championship title by defeating Marco Fu 10-8 in Llandudno on Sunday. The significance of Trump’s victory is underlined by the fact that it’s only his second ranking title on British soil, after the 2011 UK Championship. The £125,000 top prize is also his joint highest career payday – alongside his 2012 International Championship victory and 2011 World Championship runner-up prize. The triumph elevates Trump above Stuart Bingham to second in the world rankings.
Rugby Union: Stade Francais and Racing 92, two leading French rugby union clubs both based in the Paris region, announced plans yesterday to merge. The clubs, which have both struggled this season in France’s premier Top 14 league, said that the combination would create a new, stronger club that could enjoy a bigger fanbase in the French capital. Star players in the Racing 92 squad include New Zealand World Cup winners Dan Carter and Joe Rokocoko, while Stade Francais’ top players feature the likes of French international Pascal Pape and Italian Sergio Parisse.
Cricket: Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh requires reconstructive surgery on his shoulder injury which will sideline him for up to nine months and end his hopes of participating in this year’s Ashes series, local media reported yesterday. Marsh, a pace-bowling all-rounder, struggled with the shoulder injury throughout Australia’s home summer and was ruled out of Australia’s remaining two tests in India last week. Surgery would effectively put the 25-year-old out of contention for the home Ashes series, which starts in Brisbane in late November.
Rallying: Kris Meeke won the Mexican round of the World Rally Championship for Citroen on Sunday after final stage drama that saw the Briton almost miss out when he went off road and through a spectator car park. The Northern Irish driver finished 13.8 seconds ahead of France’s four-times world champion Sebastien Ogier, in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta, with Belgian Thierry Neuville third for Hyundai. Ogier leads the standings with 66 points after three of 13 rounds, with Finland’s Jari-Matti Latvala second on 58 for Toyota. Meeke moved up to sixth overall with 27.
Basketball, NBA: James Harden racked up 38 points as the Houston Rockets ran out 117-112 winners against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA. The Cavaliers, who are top of the Eastern Conference, saw LeBron James score 30 points but it was in vain as Houston secured their second straight victory. Isaiah Thomas managed 22 points as the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 100-80 at TD Garden. The Bulls, who have now lost their last five, took six minutes to score a point before Dwyane Wade struck and they failed to turn the game around.