Snooker
Exclusive: Judd Trump Looks Ahead Following World Open Victory
In an exclusive interview, World Open champion, Judd Trump, gives his thoughts on his victory in Yushan, China, as well as his determination to upkeep his form in snooker.
Image Credits: Euro Sport
Snooker star Judd Trump has his eyes fixed on becoming world No.1 after winning a fifth ranking event of the season at the World Open.
Junhui Falls to Trump on Home Turf in Yushan
The Ace in the Pack, 34, demolished home hero Ding Junhui 10-4 in Sunday's showpiece in Yushan. As a result, he leveled all-time great Steve Davis on a staggering 28 ranking crowns; 20 of which have come since the 2018 Northern Ireland Open.
The “Magnificent Seven” is still on and Trump would have to win both the Tour Championship and the World Championship to break his record of the six ranking titles he won in the 2019/2020 campaign.
Trump pocketed the bumper £170,000 winner’s cheque for defending his World Open crown and is now just £38,000 behind rival Ronnie O’Sullivan at the summit.
“It's always nice when you're number one,” Trump told SportsBoom. “I seem to have found my confidence and form again this season and there's a nice little battle heating up now.”
“It's always nice to be back involved. When you're dropping down a little bit to number four or whatever it is, I never enjoyed it.”
“Even though it's still good I'm someone who enjoyed being number one for the two or three years that I was."
It gives you a lot of pride when you're the best.
“With the amount of tournaments I won to get there I felt like I was the best. I don't feel like just winning the World Championship warrants that and I think you need to be winning four or five tournaments a season to be number one.”
Image Credits: Irish Independent
Childhood Dreams Become Reality
Trump was a child prodigy and realized his boyhood dreams of becoming world champion when he hammered Scottish legend John Higgins 18-9 in 2019.
The Bristol-born left-hander has been the red-hot favorite a couple of times since but failed in his quest to become a multiple Crucible champion.
But this could finally be the year he joins an elite group of greats to have conquered the game’s grandest challenge more than once.
Only Alex Higgins (two), John Spencer and Mark Williams (three), Higgins and Mark Selby (four), Steve Davis and Ray Reardon (six), and Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan (eight) have done it in the modern era.
Consistency Remains Key
Trump added: “What’s exciting for me is that I’m able to sustain this form for weeks and months and that’s what you need for the World Championship.”
“It’s something in the past where I’ve struggled a bit and been able to keep the form up for a week. To do it for the full 17 days is tricky. But this season I’ve managed to step it up a notch and find consistency.”
“It’s been my best ever season already really. Not in terms of ranking titles, but in terms of consistency and reaching finals it’s been absolutely incredible.”
“There are still a number of big events to come.”
I’m coming on strongly in terms of the numbers [titles].
“The last four or five years have been incredible with the consistency I’ve had and the amount of finals I’ve been able to get to. Week in and week out I’ve been able to play to a very, very high standard.”
“I definitely feel my game has been somewhere near my best this season, but if not it’s been very consistent.”
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Shane is a respected journalist who has covered a range of sports for a number of years.