Judd Trump has already claimed three major titles this season and those trophies are the latest additions to his cabinet in what has been a glittering career.
Snooker Profile: Judd Trump, Generational Talent
The Ace has won 30 ranking event titles, four minor-ranking crowns, a further nine major non-ranked competitions and has to be rated as one of snooker’s generational talents. We take a look at Trump’s 20-year professional career.
Judd Trump: Early Career
Judd Trump was a gifted junior performer and won the English Under-13 and Under-15 titles, before reaching the semi-finals of the World Under-21 Championship aged just 14. The Bristolian turned professional in 2005, but it wasn’t a switch which yielded instant success. Trump did eventually reach the semi-finals of the 2008 World Open in Glasgow and that seemed to open the door to future glory.
The Ace went onto lift the Championship League crown in 2009, and while that’s a long way from World Championship or triple crown success, it indicated that he was becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Judd Trump: Maiden Success
The Ace was made to wait until 2011 for his first ranking event victory, but that was when winning started to become an enjoyable habit. Trump took down the 2011 China Open crown, a success that almost propelled the Bristolian to World Championship glory. However, Trump was ultimately downed by John Higgins in the final of the Sheffield showpiece in that same year, but he had certainly shown he had arrived in the big time and it wasn’t long until he was back in the winners’ enclosure.
Nevertheless, the lasting impression that Trump made in that scene-stealing run to the final as a young 21 year old revitalised a lot of people’s interest in the sport. He beat several big names en route to the final, including China’s Ding Junhui in the semis, and would gain valuable consolation by winning snooker’s richest prize 8 years later. The now 35-year-old won the UK Championship later that same year, the first of his five triple crown victories, which also include the 2024 UK title, two Masters crowns and, of course, a World Championship.
Judd Trump: World Champion
The Bristolian has amassed 25 major titles in the last seven seasons of competition, but the biggest of all of those successes came at the 2019 World Championship. The Ace beat Higgins – who he had lost 18-15 to in the 2011 Crucible final – 18-9 in the showpiece to exact his revenge and add the trophy which any would-be legend would need on his record.
There is no doubt that Trump would have hoped for more than the single Sheffield crown, but he has lost in two Crucible finals, two semi-finals and four quarter-finals – and his tournament-winning record suggests there could yet be plenty more to come from him.
Judd Trump: Future victories
Trump has recently made the move to relocate from the UK to Dubai, and it remains to be seen how that move will impact his snooker career. However, victories in this season’s UK Championship, Shanghai Masters and Saudi Arabia Masters suggest that the Ace will be winning major titles for many more years to come. The fact that he is also the antepost favourite to win his second World Championship crown later this year shows he is still a player very much to be feared.
By Rob Eddy
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