Young guns have gone says Hearn

SNOOKER supremo Barry Hearn has told the Crucible’s young guns to grow a pair.

The Betfred World Championship final was contested by a pair of 40-somethings in Mark Williams and John Higgins.

And it was another year of disappointment for the likes of young pretenders Judd Trump (above, left) and Ding Junhui (above, right) – both yet to win a world title.

The ‘Class of 1992’ trio of Higgins, Williams and Ronnie O’Sullivan have won 10 ranking titles between them this season. And Hearn has told the 31-year-old Ding, 28-year-old Trump and other freshfaced pretenders that serious soulsearching is needed before they can even think of toppling the old guard.

World Snooker chairman Hearn (above) said: “If I was a player in my 20s or 30s who hadn’t won the world title, I would be looking in the mirror asking myself why.

“We had two 40-somethings in the Crucible final. The older guys answered every question to get to the final so if I was a Judd Trump or a Ding Junhui I wouldn’t be looking so much at them, but at myself. And I would be asking myself some very pertinent questions.

“Like ‘what am I doing wrong? Am I too soft? Has the money taken the edge off my game?’

“Is it that one loose shot that Judd plays that comes back to haunt him? Has Ding, with his massive sponsorship deals from China, become a bit soft?

“It is more a question of character rather than ability, and lifestyle rather than potting – and the younger guys who want to be world champion have to consider change.”