Judd Trump joins elite group with Wuhan Open snooker victory – ‘This could be the best venue in China’
The Masters champion – who has won successive events for the fourth time in his career – carried off the £140,000 first prize a week after his English Open succcess to emulate the unique achievements of fellow world champions Stephen Hendry (Grand Prix, Asian Open and Dubai Classic) in 1990 and Mark Williams (China Open and Thailand Masters) in 2002.
Trump also joins Williams in fifth place on 25 ranking titles on the all-time list with Ronnie O’Sullivan (39), Hendry (36), John Higgins (31) and Steve Davis (28) the only men to have won more events since the inception of professionalism.
His latest trophy lift sees Trump leapfrog Mark Allen into third place in the world rankings with world No. 1 O’Sullivan £100,000 ahead of him as he joins the race to regain top spot year two years after he last held the coveted position.
Trump also leads the sport’s one-year list on £264,000, a total that is set to secure him a spot in all three of the lucrative Players Series events – the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship next year.
Trump clinches Wuhan Open title in style with century in final frame
“I think this could be the best venue in China,” said Trump, who had claimed the last ranking title staged in China four years ago with a 10-5 win over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at the World Open in Yushan.
“The way the arena was set up and the amount of people in there made it a very inspiring place to play snooker.
“Sometimes in the past, the arena has been too big and felt empty, but there were a lot of people in there and it spurred me on.
“I’m definitely someone that likes to play in front of a big crowd.”
Trump has a week off before he returns to action against Jenson Kendrick in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast on Monday 22 October.
He is chasing a record fourth title triumph at the city’s Waterfront Hall.
Trump opens up second session of Wuhan Open final with 100th ton of the tournament
Latest world rankings (after Wuhan Open)
- 1. Ronnie O’Sullivan (Eng) 899,000
- 2. Luca Brecel (Bel) 881,500
- 3. Judd Trump (Eng) 799,000
- 4. Mark Allen (NI) 791,000
- 5. Mark Selby (Eng) 609,000
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