JUDD TRUMP whitewashed Mark Williams 4-0 at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship after branding the Welshman a “very strange player to play against”.

The former world champions met for a place in the .

Mark Williams of Wales handshake with Judd Trump of England celebrates 17-14 win during the Mark Williams of Wales and Judd Trump of England Semi-Final at The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England, United Kingdom on 3 May 2025 Credit: Phil Duncan/EvJudd Trump and Mark Williams have met more than 30 times on tourCredit: Alamy

Prior to the match, had spoken of Williams’ lack of consistency.

The 2019 world champion told the Metro : “His style of play is very different to everyone, I think.

“He’s a very strange player to play against and also one of the best potters of strange balls.”

“I think he’s somebody, over the last few years, who against the top players he’s still got his A game.

“I think now and again he struggles to get up against some of the lower-ranked players and he loses a lot more than maybe Ronnie [O’Sullivan], or John [Higgins] seems to be quite consistent at getting through to the last 16, last eight.”

Trump also claimed that Williams, 50, “wasn’t that good” when he was arriving on the scene – despite The Welsh Potting Machine having won World Championships in 2000, 2003 and 2018.

Trump has dominated their head-to-head, winning 24 of their 36 meetings.

But going into their latest Saudi meeting, it was Williams that had won their latest clash, beating Trump 17-14 at The Crucible earlier this year.

On this occasion it was Trump who comfortably prevailed, powered on by a change of cue.

The Bristolian, 36, went away from his traditional brass cue at the start of the year.

The move was not a success, with Trump having so far failed to win a title in 2025.

After losing 10-5 to in last week’s , Trump decided to ditch the experiment and revert back to his old cue.

Following his whitewash over Williams, which saw him reach the final four, Trump said: “It is hard to play your best when you are trying to find the right cue, but I’m out there battling.

“There is still going to be a bit of changing until I find the right cue, it is not perfect at the moment.

“We are all fortunate just to play for a living. Sometimes it’s tough when things are not going your way, but I will keep trying and at some point it will all click again.

“It’s an incredible atmosphere here and a very nice arena to play in. Each time we come to Saudi Arabia, the arenas are the best we get to play in.”

Trump will take on China’s Zhao Xintong on Friday for a place in the final.

Should he defeat the reigning world champion, Trump will come up against Mark Allen or Neil Robertson in the title match.

List of all-time Snooker World Champions

BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.

The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.

The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.

Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.

and share the record for the , with seven each.

  • 1969 – John Spencer
  • 1970 –
  • 1971 – John Spencer
  • 1972 – Alex Higgins
  • 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
  • 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
  • 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
  • 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
  • 1977 – John Spencer (2)
  • 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
  • 1979 – Terry Griffiths
  • 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
  • 1981 –
  • 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
  • 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
  • 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
  • 1985 –
  • 1986 – Joe Johnson
  • 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
  • 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
  • 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
  • 1990 –
  • 1991 –
  • 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
  • 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
  • 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
  • 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
  • 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
  • 1997 –
  • 1998 –
  • 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
  • 2000 –
  • 2001 –
  • 2002 –
  • 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
  • 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
  • 2005 –
  • 2006 – Graeme Dott
  • 2007 – John Higgins (2)
  • 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
  • 2009 – John Higgins (3)
  • 2010 – Neil Robertson
  • 2011 – John Higgins (4)
  • 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
  • 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
  • 2014 –
  • 2015 –
  • 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
  • 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
  • 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
  • 2019 –
  • 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
  • 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
  • 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
  • 2023 –
  • 2024 –
  • 2025 –

Most World Titles (modern era)

  • 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
  • 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
  • 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
  • 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
  • 2 – Alex Higgins

Eze Chidiebere Paul

Eze Chidiebere Paul

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