Judd Trump brushes off Ronnie O’Sullivan comparisons after winning UK Championship - 'I'm in the hardest era'
By Rhys Jones
Published 02/12/2024 at 21:26 GMT
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Judd Trump shrugged off comparisons with Ronnie O’Sullivan after he clinched his second UK Championship crown in York on Sunday, taking him one ranking event closer to O'Sullivan's total tally of 41. Trump now has won 30 ranking titles in his career, and insists he is content on racking up those wins in a bid to finish his career as high up the list as possible.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Judd Trump has brushed off comparisons with Ronnie O’Sullivan after his UK Championship win took him one ranking event closer to The Rocket’s all-time tally.
Clinching a second UK Championship crown means Trump now has 30 ranking titles compared to O’Sullivan’s 41.
Despite pushing any comparisons aside, Trump insists he still harbours hope of ending his career as high up the all-time list as possible.
Trump beat Barry Hawkins 10-8 to end his 13-year wait for a second UK Championship title after a gruelling match. It takes him to fourth on the all-time list of ranking-event victories.
Trump, the tournament's third seed, had beaten second seed Kyren Wilson, Neil Robertson, Zhang Anda and John Higgins en route to the final.
O'Sullivan is the benchmark with 41 ranking titles, and 23 of the sport's Triple Crown events, but Trump is keen to make his own mark.
"I’m not comparing myself to Ronnie," Trump said. "I already set the record winning six events in a season and that’s very special to me.
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"I think the only thing bigger than that would be to win all three Triple Crowns [World Championship, Masters, UK Championship] in a season. In terms of how hard it is to win six events, I’d put that up there as extremely difficult because no-one else has done it.
"It’s different for me. I’m in the hardest era of all time by a mile. I’m always going to be compared to Ronnie and others, but I think the time has changed. I think it’s even harder now to win a Triple Crown."
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'Another one for the collection' - Trump gets his hands on second UK Championship trophy
Video credit: TNT Sports
O’Sullivan's 23 Triple Crown titles put him far ahead of Trump on five.
With his previous UK Championship win coming in 2011, Trump has struggled when it comes to winning the sport’s three most prestigious tournaments, and still has only won a single world title from the 2018/19 season.
But while O'Sullivan far outranks him in terms of Triple Crown titles, the 35-year-old is content with stacking up ranking events.
"They all mean the same – it doesn’t matter to me," Trump added. "It makes no difference.
"If I am up there at the end of my career with the all-time greats, then brilliant, but I am just going to try and keep knocking out the ranking events and see where I can get to.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
"It is still a long way to go from where I want to be in my career."
Trump has a chance to add another Triple Crown title to his locker with the draw for The Masters having been made at the Barbican on Sunday.
He and Hawkins will continue their story after being drawn against each other, while O’Sullivan will face great rival John Higgins in the first round.
The Masters gets underway on January 12, with all the action live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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Watch and stream top snooker action, including the Scottish Open, live and on demand on Eurosport and discovery+
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