Northern Ireland Open: Judd Trump reveals why Ronnie O'Sullivan is his biggest snooker rival ahead of record title bid
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Updated 29/10/2023 at 09:46 GMT
Judd Trump will become only the fifth man in the modern history of snooker to celebrate a third-straight ranking title victory if he overcomes Chris Wakelin to win the Northern Ireland Open for a record fourth time in Belfast on Sunday. Only Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ding Junhui have managed the feat. "I'm going to have to be on top of my game to win this one," said Trump.
Trump makes a century in comeback win over Hawkins
Judd Trump will bid to become the first man in a decade to win three straight ranking titles when he faces Chris Wakelin in the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast on Sunday (live on Eurosport and discovery+ at 1pm GMT).
Trump equalled six-time world champion Steve Davis' haul of appearing in 41 career ranking finals with a 6-4 win over Barry Hawkins from 4-1 down on Saturday night that saw him finish with a swashbuckling 128 break, but admits he doesn't "pay much attention" to such stats.
At the age of 34, Trump feels his main rivals in the sport remain 'Class of '92' icons Ronnie O'Sullivan, John Higgins and Mark Williams because there is nobody to challenge him from his own generation.
World No. 1 O'Sullivan remains top of the all-time list with 61 ranking event final appearances and 39 victories.
"I feel like I'm kind of a little bit on my own in my age group. I feel like I'm going at my own pace," 25-time ranking event winner Trump told Eurosport on Saturday night.
"There's nobody at my own age to bring me on, in a way. I'm still looking at Ronnie, John and Mark Williams for the rivalries.
"But I'm not doing too bad, keep ticking over."
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‘Wow, what a shot’ - Trump knocks in stunning long red down the cushion
When asked who he rates as his biggest rival in the sport, Trump – who is bidding for a 20th straight match win against Wakelin – nodded to seven-time world champion O'Sullivan, who defeated him 18-13 in the 2022 world final at the Crucible.
Trump has won the English Open and Wuhan Open in his past two tournaments and is looking to emulate the feat of Ding who claimed the Shanghai Masters, Indian Open and International Championship in 2013.
"Ding's about your age, isn't he?" said O'Sullivan during his post-match analysis. "But he hasn't really kicked on. I know what Judd is saying. He's the only serial winner out there in his age category that's doing the business really."
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'Stuff dreams are made of' – Wakelin on cloud nine after sealing Northern Ireland Open final place
World No. 25 and Shoot Out champion Wakelin completed a resounding 6-1 win over Jack Lisowski to reach the final earlier on Saturday with his opponent failing to register a point in the final three frames.
Wakelin has lost all 11 of his previous meetings with Trump, including an agonising 5-4 defeat in the last 32 of the European Masters in August from 4-0 ahead.
Trump is favourite to claim the Alex Higgins Trophy for a fourth time in the past six years with Wakelin an outside shot.
"On paper, everyone will think I'm favourite, but he probably played better today than I did," said Trump. "He's played well all week.
"I'm going to have to be on top of my game to win this one."
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Trump clinches Wuhan Open title in style with century in final frame
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