Judd Trump wins Champion of Champions for first time with crushing win over John Higgins
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ByEurosport
Updated 21/11/2021 at 22:38 GMT
The Champion of Champions was one of the few trophies missing from Trump’s collection but he corrected that aberration with a stunning evening session of snooker. The win represents Trump’s 16th win in his last 19 finals. Higgins meanwhile has now lost three finals in a row after defeats at the English and Northern Ireland Opens.
O'Sullivan, Trump feature in English Open top 10 shots
Judd Trump produced a dominant evening session to streak away from four-time world champion John Higgins to secure a 10-4 win in the Champion of Champions final.
The world number two made runs of 63, 62, 61, 74, 51, 68 and 59 to collect a first tournament win of the season.
"Any win against him is special," said Trump of Higgins after the match.
The Champion of Champions was, in fact, one of the few trophies that has eluded Trump in his phenomenal run of success in recent years, but the world number two seized control of the final in the evening session.
After failing to get over the line in the finals of the Northern Ireland and English Opens, the 46-year-old Higgins had questioned his own ability to compete at the highest level anymore, and the four-time world champion waned as the match wore on.
The afternoon session was a streaky affair with Higgins opening up with a three-frame blitz to seize the initiative, but world number two Trump would respond with a four-frame run of his own. A share of frames eight and nine would send the match to the evening session with Trump holding a one-frame advantage at 5-4.
And from there, Trump was imperious, winning all five frames required to win the Champion of Champions event for the first time.
Trump has a reputation, first and foremost, for break building and great potting, but it was excellent safety acumen that saw him snatch frame 12 from 47 in arrears that proved crucial. Had Higgins won it, it would have stemmed Trump's momentum, but instead the Bristolian moved to 8-4 ahead, providing the 2019 world champion with an unassailable lead.
The 32-year-old confirmed the inevitable in winning the next two frames with little fuss to win a first title since success at the Gibraltar Open back in March.
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