MY TRUMP CARD
Judd says second world crown will elevate him alongside the game’s all-time greats
JUDD TRUMP hopes a successful defence of his World Championship will elevate himself to a new level on the green baize.
The world champion and world No.1 looked was forced to call on all his armoury in a 10-8 first-round victory over qualifier Tom Ford in Sheffield.
But snooker’s brightest star is adamant the pressure is off having lived up to his potential with a record-breaking season.
The potting sensation has blown away all of his rivals this season by pocketing a record six ranking titles and over a £1million in prize money.
And if he defends the world crown he won emphatically last term, then he’d join an elite group of multiple Crucible champions.
Trump, who hammered Scot John Higgins 18-9 in last year’s final, said: “I’ve always had the comparisons that I’ve got the potential to do as well as the great players, so it’s nice now to finally be living up to that.
“When I hang my cue, and it’s the end of my career, it will be nice to be mentioned in the same bracket as the greats like Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis.
“If I could overtake some of their records it would put me in the same kind of bracket. I’m not looking at the titles though,
BY NEIL GOULDING at the Crucible, Sheffield
I’m going to let them come. When you get close to a milestone they repeat over and over again.
“Hopefully, fingers crossed, I can keep winning. When I get to 25 or 30 titles, then the bigger records start to come up. I’ve had compliments for the snooker I played at the World Championship last season, a lot of players have come up to me and said beating Higgins in the final was the best standard they’ve ever seen.
“It’s the ultimate compliment, from other players who have seen it all, seen Ronnie and Hendry at their best, then that’s amazing. I felt proud of myself for the way I performed. “I’ve tried to take that level and to step it up a gear this year – and it’s worked for me.
“I just want to keep improving whilst I’m enjoying my snooker. “My goals were to become world No.1 and win the
World Championship and they’re both done and dusted now.
“So now it’s nice to add these other records, they’re coming thick and fast because of the way I’m playing.
“I think the pressure is off for me now, I’ve done everything I set out to do. From this moment on it’s a bonus.”
Trump continues his quest for a second world crown and the £500,000 top prize today against China’s 20-year-old rising star Yan Bingtao, with their bestof-25 frame clash due to be concluded over two sessions tomorrow.
He also just four century breaks away from beating Neil Robertson’s 103 century breaks in a season.
Trump said: “I’m just trying to reach another level, to make more centuries than anyone has ever seen and the best standard in matches.
“Winning six events is a real achievement, but if I could win the World Championship again, that would probably be the best season of all time.”
Judd Trump is sponsored proudly by Dental Centre Turkey www.dentalcentreturkey.com