Unhappy Trump in rant about conditions
WORLD No.1 Judd Trump slammed conditions at Celtic Manor following his Welsh Open exit and suggested he may not return if future snooker tournaments are held at the venue.
Trump was stunned by Hossein Vafaei in the third round in Newport, bringing to an end his 28-match winning streak in best-of-seven matches.
The Bristolian has won four ranking titles in Milton Keynes this season and the change of scene proved far from welcome.
“It’s just so heavy here,” he said. “It’s like playing in China and that’s why the standard has been pretty poor from what I’ve seen of the tournament.
“A lot of my games have been bad. Balls are going safe a lot more often, which doesn’t make for good viewing.
“It’s difficult to play in. People on the outside who stick the tables in there don’t play snooker in there, so they just set it up and think it all looks good.
“When you’re out there playing, it’s a different story. In those conditions, anyone’s going to be able to win.
“I’ll have to see where (the Gibraltar Open) is being played
– if it’s here, maybe I’ll give it a miss.”
Kyren Wilson and John Higgins joined Trump as high-profile third-round departures but Mark Williams had no such problems at his home venue and continued his quest for a third Welsh Open title with consecutive victories on day four.
Ali Carter had to withdraw due to illness. Carter was due to play Ronnie O’Sullivan in the quarterfinals.
O’Sullivan received a bye to the semi-finals where he will face the winner of Williams or Tom Ford, who were due to play in Newport last night.
In a statement yesterday, the World Snooker Tour said, “The withdrawal is not related to Covid-19 symptoms and we wish Ali all the best for a speedy recovery.”
In the other half of the draw, Stephen Maguire, the Welsh Open winner in 2013, beat the defending champion Shaun Murphy 5-4.
Maguire will face Northern Ireland’s Jordan Brown who has reached his first semi-final in a ranking event.
Brown defeated 2008 Welsh Open champion Mark Selby 5-4 with the match coming down to the black ball in the deciding frame.
Watch the Welsh Open live on Eurosport, Eurosport app and stream on discovery+