Judd Trump not happy with snooker rival who ‘didn’t deserve to win like that’ as he CRASHES OUT of Champion of Champions
JUDD TRUMP took a swipe at Neil Robertson who “didn’t deserve to win like that” after he CRASHED OUT of Champion of Champions.
Underdog Roberton claimed a 6-4 win over world No.1 Trump to advance to a semi-final clash against Mark Williams on Saturday.
It was an unusual four-and-a-half hour clash between the two usually fluent, heavy scorers, with prolonged frames and safety exchanges.
Trump took the opener with a run of 69, but Robertson then reeled off three consecutive frames with breaks of 90, 84 and 59 to lead 3-1.
Two half-centuries brought Trump level at 3-3 but the Australian took the next two frames, before Trump got a fourth.
But the eighth frame lasted almost AN HOUR before he sealed his victory with another just before midnight.
An irked Trump told ITV 4: “I thought I was very unlucky.
“To be honest I think Neil knows that he didn’t deserve to win like that, but that happens.
“He put in a good spell to go 3-1 up, then after that he had quite a few chances, missed quite a few long balls and got safe every time. It’s just one of those days.”
The Bristol cueist, 35, who has earned nearly £1.5million this year at the top of the world rankings, felt Roberston slowed play down.
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He added: “It was a tough game, it was very slow.
“I love Neil but there was a lot of slow play and he’s a much better player when he just gets on with it.
“Hopefully he gets on with it for the rest of the tournament, it would be nice to see him go and win it again, he’s a great player. It just got a bit bogged down out there, I think.”
Robertson, 42, was not fussed about how the win came as he punched the air after shaking hands with Trump.
The Aussie told ITV 4: “Incredible game, Judd showed all his qualities there.
“His safety play, his discipline, everything was incredible. I matched it with him, I stayed with him, kept my discipline as well.
“That blue is definitely one of the highlight shots of my career, in terms of the pressure and everything that was at stake.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Robertson compiled a break of 110 on the way to edging past Ali Carter 4-3.
Trump had already secured a 4-0 triumph over Ding Junhui, who beat Brit Chris Wakelin to win his first ranking title in five years at last weekend’s International Championship.
On Thursday, Ronnie O’Sullivan will play Xiao Guodong, while Mark Selby will take on Shaun Murphy to round off Group Four.
The winner of Group Four will face Mark Allen in the other semi-final this weekend.
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 hen 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 World War II 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.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 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 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 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 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
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