World Snooker Championship: Judd Trump laments pace in shock Jak Jones loss - 'Couldn't get any rhythm'
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Updated 01/05/2024 at 17:48 GMT
Judd Trump says the pace of the match was partly to blame for his shock quarter-final exit at the World Snooker Championship. The 2019 champion was far from his best as he was beaten 13-9 by Wales' Jak Jones. It means he misses out on a potential last-four show-down with Ronnie O'Sullivan. Stream top snooker action, including the World Championship, live on discovery+.
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Judd Trump believes the pace of his World Championship quarter-final was one of the reasons why he lost to Jak Jones.
The Ace in the Pack was one of the favourites to lift the title this season.
However, he was far from his best as he suffered a shock 13-9 defeat to the Welshman, who is ranked at 44 in the world.
Reflecting on his performance, Trump told Eurosport he could not find any fluency in his play.
"It was tough," he said. "I tried to enjoy it. I think obviously Jak's a little bit slower than some of the other players and I just wasn't able to get any rhythm.
"I tried my best, but it was just too long a period in-between shots. I just couldn't get any rhythm, couldn't get any flow.
"Every time I came to the table, I felt like I hadn't played. It was difficult.
"I'm someone who needs to kind of play to a rhythm. I think maybe I just bogged myself down. I should have maybe played a bit more attacking, quicker. Just learn from it."
The pair had been near inseparable in the opening two sessions of their last-eight match, and resumed on Wednesday morning locked at 8-8.
That meant there were a possible nine frames remaining, but only six were needed, as Jones sauntered to victory.
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It brings to a close an excellent campaign for Trump, who has won five rankings events, including the World Open and the German Masters.
"It's been a great season for me," he reflected. "Very, very consistent throughout. Obviously there's just been little periods where a couple of bad games here and there, and this game I didn't play well from the get-go really."
The 31-year-old also added that he was far from happy with the table at the Crucible.
There have been questions over the tightness of the pockets, but Trump quipped: "It's not so much the pockets. I think it's more the actual table's not great."
For Jones, meanwhile, this was the biggest win of his career.
The 30-year-old's best previous finish at a tournament this season was when reaching the third round of the Welsh Open.
But he is now through to the semi-finals of a ranking event for only the second time, matching his run at the 2022 Gibraltar Open.
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"It was a bit edgy at times, but better than my previous matches," he said.
"I thought Judd wasn't the Judd of usual. He missed quite a lot of balls that he wouldn't normally miss, but I thought he started off really well with a century, which kind of motivated me.
"I played a good three frames then to go 3-1 up at the mid-session interval, and I didn't think he was the same after that. He kind of went into his shell a little bit, which is not normally like Judd.
"I kind of picked up on that and in the end took advantage."
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