Ronnie just can’t win to save his life
WE’RE NOT SCARED OF HIM ANYMORE – JUDD
JUDD TRUMP has fired a barrage of pot shots at rival Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Six-time world champion O’Sullivan, 45, had to rely on a top-up place through his No.3 world ranking to get into this week’s prestigious Champion of Champions tournament in Bolton for the past year’s event winners.
The Londoner lost all five of his finals last term.
World No.2 Trump, 32, qualified multiple times, having won five ranking tournaments last season and 11 in all over two campaigns.
And the 2019 Bristol-born world champion not only taunted O’Sullivan over his title drought but also claimed his rival has lost his belief and aura.
For good measure, Trump added that O’Sullivan was not a good ambassador for the sport of snooker.
Trump said: “You are just happy to win tournaments these days, it is very hard to win any tournament for all the top players, Ronnie O’Sullivan included.
“Look at Ronnie, he can’t win an event to save his life at the moment. I just think he’s lost a little bit of the belief.
“When you don’t win you don’t have the belief and people aren’t scared to beat you anymore. When he comes up against a top player there’s just not that gulf in class I don’t think anymore.
“No one’s too scared to play him, anyone’s game is good enough to beat him on their day, that’s what’s happened over the last year.”
O’Sullivan tends to shoot from the lip and has fiercely criticised the standard of young players, the sport’s status, the quality of venues and the way the game is run.
Trump added: “The things he says don’t bother me because I am used to them.
“It’s just some of the comments he makes are rather derogatory towards snooker and there is no need for it really. There is no need to put it down, none of the rest of us put the sport down.”
Trump is looking for a first success in the Champion of Champions event and is in Group One today – taking on amateur World Seniors winner David Lilley, with Ryan Day and Stephen Maguire making up the pool.
Three-time winner O’Sullivan is in the tough-looking Group Three along with John Higgins, Ding Junhui and Stuart Bingham.
The Rocket, faded or not, will begin his campaign on Thursday.