Ronnie O’Sullivan on ‘shaky’ Judd Trump performance at Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker - ‘Worst I’ve seen him'
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Published 06/03/2024 at 19:34 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan made light work of Judd Trump to reach the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker final and after the match admitted it was the "worst I've seen him play". O'Sullivan was disappointed with his own performance but did enough to overcome Trump 4-1 and set up a final with Luca Brecel. Stream the action live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com.
'Judd was the worst I’ve ever seen him’ – O’Sullivan says he ‘dragged’ Trump ‘down to his level’
Ronnie O’Sullivan said it was “the worst I've seen” Judd Trump play after defeating his rival on Wednesday to reach the Riyadh Season World Masters final.
The world No. 1 cruised past the No. 2 rank with a 4-1 victory, as he knocked in his fourth century of the tournament to set up a mouth-watering clash against world champion Luca Brecel.
After the match, O’Sullivan told Eurosport that he “dragged Trump down to his level” following what he feels was a sub-par performance from both players.
“It wasn’t great,” he admitted. “Judd, that was probably the worst I’ve ever seen him play. I dragged him down to my level and that’s what I seem to be doing most of this season.
“I played really well last night and had a bit of expectation coming in here, thinking I could put two matches together back-to-back playing well, but that’s put that out of the window.”
Trump echoed O’Sullivan’s thoughts, saying it was the “worst I have felt in a while”.
“I didn’t play very well, I felt terrible,” Trump explained. “I felt shaky, one of the worst performances in a long time, I didn’t feel good at all.
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“Even when he was leaving me chances I knew I was going to miss, it wasn’t a good feeling out there.
“It’s been a good season so far, but it was probably one of the worst I’ve felt for a while.”
Trump narrowly overcame Shaun Murphy in his first game in Riyadh to reach the semi-finals, but admitted to feeling out of sorts despite enjoying a successful season.
“I didn’t feel good in the first game either, very shaky,” he told Eurosport. “I don’t know for what reason but it has happened quite a few times when I’ve had good seasons.
“I think maybe just put too much pressure on myself rather than just go out and relax and play like I have done throughout the season. I had loads of chances but I didn’t take them.”
O’Sullivan and Brecel head into Wednesday’s final, live on Eurosport and discovery+, with the ‘Riyadh Season ball’ yet to be potted - a gold ball worth an extra 20 points available for players to pot after a maximum 147 break.
Although O’Sullivan admitted that winning tournaments no longer “excites” him because he has done it so often, there is still a chance of becoming the first player to make a historic 167 break.
“I just want to play half-decent,” O’Sullivan said. “I don’t even want to play well, just play half-decent, enjoy the game, be competing.
“But when you’re not playing well you kind of lose a little bit of belief in yourself and your confidence can go, but I just try to still play attacking and aggressive snooker, even if I’m not playing great because that’s the only way you can win really.”
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Stream top snooker action, including the Riyadh Season World Masters and World Snooker Championship, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at Eurosport.com.
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