Judd Trump Reckons He Is The True World Number One Rather Than Ronnie O'Sullivan

Judd Trump reckons he is still the true No1 in snooker – a mantle he could yet officially reclaim by reaching the final of the European Masters in Germany this week. 

The 32-year-old Juddernaut secured his place in Friday’s last 16 with a scratchy 5-3 victory over amateur Andrew Higginson in Furth – saving his best until last, as he wrapped up the win with a superb clearance break of 103. 

Current world No2 Trump stands less than £30,000 behind reigning and seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan in the money table on which the rankings are based. And that comes despite the Rocket collecting a bumper £500,000 for lifting the trophy at the Crucible in May to soar back to the summit of the game. 

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What it does show is Trump’s remarkable consistency in the so-called lesser tournaments, having won 15 ranking events in less than four years. And he is looking to get back to No1 for a fifth time, a spot he lost to Selby last November. 

Two-time European Masters champion Trump said: “The fact that I am so close to Ronnie O’Sullivan shows that in consistency terms I am maybe up there as the best still. Without those two huge pay cheques collected by Mark Selby and Ronnie for winning the world championship in the last two years I would probably be quite a way clear again. 

“I do think you have to take those with a pinch of salt considering how big the prize money is compared to the rest of the events – until we get events that are matching that or closer, with first prizes of £300,000, £400,000 or £500,000 on offer. 

“You are never really going to get the best player at No1 in the world when the prize money is so huge in Sheffield compared to everything else.” 

Snooker bosses were rightly praised to the rafters for some incredible efforts to keep the players in action and earning during the Covid pandemic. But with many of the restrictions eased, with China an obvious exception, the calendar looks light certainly in the first few months of the current 2022-23 season, and some pros have experienced weeks at a time off after losing a qualifier or two. 

Trump, though, believes that while the sport has not regressed back to the bad old days of Sir Rodney Walker’s regime and six ranking tournaments a year, many will look at the current fare on offer especially up to October and think snooker has “gone backwards”. 

He said: “It has been very stop-start, and it is difficult for anyone to get up for a tournament when you have a month’s break before or after. I tried my best to focus on the European Masters and I am maybe more fortunate than some in that I am not struggling to actually get by. So I have been trying to enjoy holidays I would not normally do and the time off.  

“But those outside always expect and want more and more. From where the game was maybe three or four years ago, from that outsider’s point of view, the game has maybe gone backwards especially without the Chinese events. Those missing have left a massive hole.” 

Trump admits he has been struggling with the summer snooker conditions in Germany – with the unusually hot weather and temperature in Furth contributing to humidity levels that affect the way the balls and table play. 

Ahead of a last-16 clash on Friday with ‘Accrington Butcher’ and amateur Farakh Ajaib, Trump said: “It has been a bit of a struggle, and make it difficult to play your best when it is sticky and humid. In the summer months it is always hard to get the table playing well. 

“In Australia during their winter, or at the Masters in the UK in January, I always think that is when the table play best. I would love to get through to the semi-finals here and see the cloth changed and see the table conditions at their best at the event.”