Trump is proud of how he lived with‘next Rocket’tag
Judd Trump is proud of the way he’s dealt with being dubbed the “next Ronnie O’sullivan”.
The ace in the pack burst onto the snooker scene by reaching the World Championship Final in 2011 – where he lost 18-15 to Scot John Higgins – at the age of just 21.
And Trump was tipped to follow in the Rocket’s footsteps with his flamboyant “naughty snooker”.
“I ’v e always had that expectation on me,” reflected Trump, who is bidding for a fourth successive Northern Ireland Open title.
“There’s always been that hunger to be the main guy. I don’t know when my prime is. If it’s now, then I need to make the most of it.
“I always knew I was good, but until you prove it to other people, you never truly have that belief.
“I lost in that World Final to John, I won the UK Championship and I won a few other events. But it took a few years for me to really make my mark.”
World No. 2 Trump has won all of the green- baize game’s major events, and has amassed an impressive 22 ranking titles thus far in his illustrious career.
Amazingly, 11 of those titles have come in the past two seasons in a period of domination.
Only O’ Sullivan (37), Stephen Hendry ( 36), Higgins (32), Steve Davis (28) and Mark Williams ( 24) have pocketed more during their stellar careers.
“Apart from Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis in their primes, I feel like it’s the most anyone has ever dominated,” stressed Trump. “Especially with the strength in depth and the player quality that we have around now.”
Trump has beaten arch-rival O’sullivan 9-7 in the last three Northern Ireland Open Finals.
And he heads to Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, where the event starts on Saturday, as the favourite to lift the Alex Higgins Trophy once again.
“It wasn’t until I started practising with my brother three years ago that I took my game to the next level,” added Trump.
“From that point, when you’re consistently winning events, it’s a different kind of belief.
“At that point, everyone re a l i s e s that I had that expectation for a reason.
“It’s nice to win so many events over such a short space of time. Nobody can take that away.”