Judd Trump 'hoping someone will listen' to concerns over 'extremely poor conditions' after hard-fought Northern Ireland Open win over Jackson Page
Published 21/10/2025 at 23:16 GMT+1
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Judd Trump secured his spot in the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Open with a 4-2 victory over Jackson Page on Tuesday, but it was a notably laboured display from the world No. 1, whose break-building suffered as a result of what he felt were "extremely poor conditions". Trump said he is "hoping someone will listen" to the ongoing complaints from players over the "cold and damp" venues.
Trump struggling to 'build confidence' due to 'extremely poor conditions'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Judd Trump is "hoping someone will listen" to players' concerns about conditions on the snooker tour.
Trump laboured to a 4-2 win over Jackson Page in the second round of the Northern Ireland Open on Tuesday.
The world No. 1 - renowned as one of the best break-builders on the snooker tour - struggled to put together lengthy runs at the table, and on multiple occasions uncharacteristically ran out of position.
Speaking in the TNT Sports studio after the match, Trump detailed just why he felt the conditions were so tough at the Waterfront Hall, in comparison to his first-round win over Anthony McGill, when he felt the conditions were much kinder.
"It was difficult," Trump said. "Very, very heavy, so I think it was quite different from the first game. First game, conditions were nice. This game, not so much. So just trying to stay patient. You’re both going to make mistakes, it’s about who can make less mistakes out there."
Asked what exactly made the conditions so difficult, Trump replied: "The amount of players on the table, the table is getting ironed too much. It’s very humid and damp in the arena, very cold, the heating doesn’t work on the table. A few factors."
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'Had to dig deep' - Trump beats Page to reach Round 3 of Northern Ireland Open
Video credit: TNT Sports
With a number of early exits in ranking events so far this season, Trump said he has struggled to build confidence and to adapt to the conditions.
"It’s something that’s happened all season," Trump said. "I’ve struggled, the conditions are extremely poor. Just very heavy, hard to screw the ball back.
"Hard to do anything, hard to get any confidence. You play a shot one pace, it comes off a different pace. So yeah, difficult."
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He added the cushions on the table were "very bouncy" in his win over Page, but conceded "it was the same" for the Welshman - who knocked in the highest break of the match at 75.
"The whole season I haven’t been able to get any kind of fluency going because I play a shot and it goes nowhere near where I expect it to go," Trump said. "It’s quite mentally tough to take when it’s happening all the time."
"In China it was the same. I was moaning about how cold and damp it was. Nothing got done, so hoping in the future someone will listen."
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Trump given 'stern warning' by referee for successive missed shots
Video credit: TNT Sports
This season, Trump opted to change his cue for the first time in seven years. He dismissed the idea that his new apparatus could be playing a part in his struggles.
"I think the new cue is helping," he said. "It’d be even worse with the old cue.
"The new cue has got a lot more power and I still can’t screw the ball back, so I don’t know what I need, a piece of lead maybe."
Trump will face either Gary Wilson or Martin O'Donnell in the third round of the Northern Ireland Open as he hunts a fifth title in Belfast.
Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Northern Ireland Open, live and on demand on TNT Sports and discovery+
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