JUDD TRUMP admitted that he did not feel like snooker’s World No1 after his shocking World Snooker Championship exit on Monday.
The has held the top spot on the World Tour’s rankings since August 2024, but in the second round at the Crucible by the unseeded Hossein Vafaei.
Judd Trump admitted that he had not been playing like a World No1 Credit: Getty
Trump was dumped out of the tournament by Iranian Hossein Vafaei Credit: PA
Trump scrapped with the Iranian right down to a deciding frame in their best of 25 match, but ultimately came up short after Vafaei blasted in breaks of 106 and 91 in the final frames to dump Trump out of .
The Brit needed a quarter-final spot to confirm his status at the summit of the rankings, which are determined based on a players’ winnings over a rolling two-year period.
But now he could be toppled should Aussie Neil Robertson go all the way in Sheffield, to reclaim the trophy he last won in 2010.
Following his exit, Trump revealed that such a run from the Thunder from Down Under might be exactly what he needs to pull him out of a rut that has plagued his season.
He explained: “I think with the world No1 thing, I don’t feel like I’ve played well enough to hold it.
“I’m still No1 at the moment, but I think maybe I need someone to overtake me, to give myself a bit of a kick at the backside to produce the goods again.
“It’s something that I love being.
“I’ve been consistent, but not good enough. I think the world No1, you want to be kind of clearing up in that kind of position.
“I fought hard because I was struggling tonight and then I turned it around, a good red to get in to go 11-11, then 12-11, and didn’t really do a lot wrong at 12-11.
“But you’ve got to clear up in that kind of position at 12-11. That’s what you’ve got to do to be world champion, world No1, and just disappointing.
It was the Juddernaut has endured in the last 12 months.
His only ranking event win of the season came at the German Masters in January, a worrying trend considering he managed three and five wins in the 2024-25 and 2023-24 seasons respectively.
But barring a ‘kick up the backside,’ the 36-year-old is at a loss for what he can do to drag himself back to his previous levels of dominance in the sport.
When asked what he planned to do to break his duck, Trump joked: “I’m hoping you tell me. I don’t really know.
“I think the longer the season goes on, for me, I kind of wanted it to finish.
“I gave it my all this tournament and the same pattern really happened again. So it’s nice just to get that out of your head and start again fresh.
“I think it’s a month or two to find the right cue, find whatever I need to do and get my head right, have a break and go in fresh for the next season.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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