Judd Trump Masters win a welcome return to form that shows what 'true champions' are made of
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ByEurosport
Published 16/01/2023 at 12:20 GMT
The 2023 Masters champion is Judd Trump who lifted the Paul Hunter trophy for the second time after beating Mark Williams in a thrilling encounter at Alexandra Palace. David Hendon looks at how Trump, so dominant for a while, can overcome a recent dip in form to rise to the very top of snooker once more.
The moment Judd Trump sealed the Masters title
How he did it, even he wasn’t sure. But Judd Trump is now a double Masters champion and back where he belongs, in snooker’s winners’ circle ten months after last lifting a trophy.
His 10-8 victory over Mark Williams in the final at Alexandra Palace was a triumph of sheer grit and determination. Known – rightly – as a great shot-maker and entertainer, Trump’s much vaunted ‘naughty’ snooker was jettisoned in favour of the kind of well behaved tactical game more associated with Mark Selby.
Williams had played the best snooker of the tournament going into the final. He trailed 4-1 but went 7-6 in front before the pivotal frame of the day. It lasted 58 minutes and Trump was absolute granite, laying snookers, gradually seizing control and finally getting it on the board.
It proved he had the toughness to stay with Williams, who possesses arguably the best temperament of any player on tour. Trump nudged ahead 9-8 and, from his first chance in frame 18, produced a brilliant 126 to follow up his 2019 Masters success by becoming the 11th player to win it multiple times.
This was a steal which proved his steel. Not enough credit is given to Trump for his mental strength. He has the burden of being expected not just to win but to entertain. People demand dashing brilliance, not just victories.
For a time, he duly delivered. From the 2018 Northern Ireland Open to the 2021 Gibraltar Open Trump won 14 ranking titles, including the World Championship, as well as the Masters.
It was an imperious reign but still not enough for some armchair critics, who typically greeted a tournament win by informing Trump – from a safe distance of course – that he wasn’t winning the right events.
In fact, it had been a spell of dominance rare in this ultra competitive era of snooker but difficult to maintain. Last season, the wins dried up, although he did land the Champion of Champions and Turkish Masters, and reached another world final.
The current season has been full of setbacks and close defeats. This is where true champions are made: in adversity. What is the response when things aren’t going well? To sulk? To blame others?
Ultimately, it’s to work harder than ever and find a way out of the mire. Most important is to keep the self belief that you are good enough and things will turn around.
Ryan Day had a go at a re-spotted black leading Trump 5-3 in round one last week. Had he potted it, Trump would have been firmly in the doldrums heading to the World Grand Prix, which starts in Cheltenham today. As it is, he goes there off the back of what is surely his most unlikely win, and therefore the most satisfying.
Trump is 33 and therefore sandwiched between the formidable older brigade and those players coming through, two different generations each posing a challenge.
The balance of power in snooker shifted a quarter of a century ago. Stephen Hendry had lost in the World Championship for the first time in five years when Ken Doherty beat him in the 1997 final.
The following season, the game’s three major titles were shared by the Class of ’92. Ronnie O’Sullivan won the UK Championship, Williams captured the Masters and John Higgins became world champion.
This marked the end of Hendry’s era of domination as three special players he had inspired took snooker to new heights. But more remarkable than their specific achievements is that they are still doing it.
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'By far my best ever win' – Trump on 'Selby-ing' his way to the title
Williams didn’t come to the Masters as some old stager down on his luck. He was the seventh seed, having won a ranking event last season. O’Sullivan is world champion and world no.1 while Higgins, though struggling this campaign, reached six finals last season.
Trump is still having to face these legends on a regular basis, as well as Selby, Neil Robertson and sundry other leading players all capable of producing high quality snooker.
So to win a tournament such as the Masters while not at his best is a sign that he has that special something in his character that champions need when their A-games have gone walkabout.
It feels like he was born to play snooker. Trump inherited the bug from his dad, Steve, who gave up his weekends to drive him to junior events around Britain in his formative years.
Like many a shy kid, Trump took solace in the snooker table. It was something he was very good at from a ridiculously young age, winning junior events at eight, becoming English national under 15 champion at ten and making a maximum in tournament play at 14.
He turned professional at 16, initially finding it difficult to get past some of the older players with decades of experience who regularly left him nailed to the baulk cushion, but he gradually made his way through to win the 2011 China Open at 21, reaching his first world final a few weeks later.
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Trump delights Alexandra Palace crowd with magical double
He has been a top player ever since, frequently using his status to call for changes in a bid to make snooker bigger, more exciting and more accessible to new audiences.
He could not have found fault with the Ally Pally set up. The Masters was another magnificent success story for World Snooker Tour, who saw the Palace packed out for every session with large, enthusiastic crowds.
Not every match was a classic by any means, but there was enough high quality play and drama to satisfy fans, particularly on the final day. Tickets are already selling well for next year.
It was a compelling week and the event got the close final snooker fans had been craving after several runaways in title matches during the last year.
In the end, the champion was a player whose talent and showmanship has never been in question. By winning the Masters in the way he did, Judd Trump also proved his tenacity.
These qualities make him dangerous now for the rest of the season.
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