‘He’s had his purple patch already’ – Judd Trump warned he may have peaked too soon ahead of World Championship
JUDD TRUMP has been warned his season may have peaked too early ahead of the World Championship next month.
The world No.1 has built his campaign around competing for a second Crucible crown – but hasn’t reached a final so far in 2025.
Trump, 35,made snooker history by pocketing more than £1million in prize money before Christmas, after victory at the UK Championships crowned off six ranking titles last season.
But he hasn’t made it beyond the semi-finals of any event this calendar year, losing to Kyren Wilson at the Masters and Stuart Bingham at the World Grand Prix.
Trump has opted out of a couple of tournaments, including the Scottish Open, to solo practice as part of focusing on joining an elite list of multiple World Championship winners.
But esteemed commentator Dave Hendon now wonders if the Ace in the Pack played his hand too early in the campaign, with Crucible action set to start a month away on April 19.
Speaking on the Snooker Scene podcast, Hendon said: “Trump, this season, has won the two biggest ranking events so far in terms of prize money. The Saudi Arabia Masters and the UK Championship.
“On paper you’ve got to say that his first round clash looks likely to be a comfortable win for Trump. But you never know.
“One thing I will say is that his season is definitely front loaded in terms of achievements. All those finals were before Christmas.
“We’re judging Trump because he’s world No.1 by very high standards. His standards have dipped a little from the early season.
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“Now that may not be a bad thing because he may be saving something for the World Championship.
“But the danger is that he’s had his purple patch already.”
Hendon added: “That’s happened before. They are long seasons and you can slightly burn out, if that’s the world. Form can dip a little.
“It happened last year, at the Tour Championship he was pretty poor against Mark Williams, and then he went out at the quarter-finals at the Worlds.”
Trump won his first world title in 2019, beating John Higgins 18-9 in the final and was runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2022.
The Players Championship is the final major tournament before the Crucible in April, with Trump facing Scottish Open winner Lei Peifan in his opening clash on Tuesday 18.
Meanwhile, the Bristol-born cueist has revealed he tries to avoid spending time in England.
He now divides his time between Dubai and Hong Kong with his figure skater girlfriend Maisy Ma.
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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 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