Snooker
Exclusive: Phenomenal Judd Trump Sets the Standard, But Mark Allen Vows to Reclaim No.1
Judd Trump’s stellar consistency has set a new standard in snooker, but Mark Allen is determined to reclaim the No.1 spot. Read more as Allen discusses Trump’s form, his own ambitions, and the future of the sport.
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Mark Allen believes what Judd Trump is doing in the current era of the sport is nothing short of “phenomenal”.
Northern Irish potter Allen, 38, kicked off the season as world No.1 but has seen Trump open up a hefty cushion over world champion Kyren Wilson and himself at the sport’s rankings summit.
The level of consistency in the Ace in the Pack’s results has not been seen since Stephen Hendry back in the 90s.
Last week’s International Championship, where he lost in the last 16, was amazingly the first event this calendar year where Trump has failed to reach a quarter final.sn
In the past two seasons the Ace in the Pack, 35, has competed in 11 big finals, capturing seven titles.
Allen, who is defending his title at this week’s Champion of Champions after hammering Trump 10-3 in last year’s showpiece, told SportsBoom.com: “You don't win all of those tournaments he's won over the last 18 months without deserving to be a mile clear at world number one.”
“He’s become the man to beat again absolutely. It's phenomenal because it's a tough era, there are a lot of good players around.”
“Even those early matches you don't get any easy games anymore and best of sevens are very cutthroat. Judd just has an amazing knack of getting over the line. He doesn't always play brilliant, but he's proven that you don't need to.”
He's turned into a winning machine and it's great for the sport because he's a good advert for the game
Mark Allen
“But I want to get back to number one and be the one everyone’s chasing like Judd.”
Winning the Saudi Arabia Masters saw Trump overtake legend Steve Davis with a staggering 29th ranking crown with plenty of years ahead of him to add to that quickly growing tally.
Only Ronnie O’Sullivan (41), Stephen Hendry (36) and John Higgins (31) stand above him on that particular list.
But the scintillating left-hander often gets criticised for his Triple Crown majors record where he has pocketed just four of the game’s grandest gongs.
O’Sullivan (23), Hendry (18), Davis (15), Higgins and Mark Selby (both nine) and Mark Williams (seven) are a fair way in front of him.
The 2019 world champion is adamant he purely wants to win every event he enters and would rather win five or six titles a season rather than just the World Championship.
The Antrim ace Allen added:
If you believe what Judd says then not winning more of the majors would nag him because he says he treats all the tournaments the same.
Mark Allen
“He wants to win every tournament that he enters so he doesn't base his career as good or bad around the Triple Crowns.”
“But I think he's the only person in the game who thinks that.”
“It he genuinely thinks that then he will look back and think he's had a great career, regardless of what he achieves.”
“I suspect he's more than good enough to lift a few more.”
Shane is a respected journalist who has covered a range of sports for a number of years.