2019 Player of the Year

After a couple of quizzes and a look at the highs and lows from the last twelve months, the end-of-year countdown continues with the 2019 Player of the Year.

A maiden Masters title at the Alexandra Palace in London courtesy of a 10-4 demolition job on the seven-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.

A total of five ranking event triumphs across the calendar year, with winners cheques adding up to more than £1 million.

A deserved return to the number one position in the world rankings for the first time in six years.

A maiden World Championship trophy at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield after producing a performance for the ages in his humbling of John Higgins in the final.

There can be, of course, only one 2019 Player of the Year – Bristol’s Judd Trump.

It has been a period in which the 30 year-old has finally realised his full potential, underlining exactly why there has been so much hype surrounding his talent ever since he was a young boy.

Trump already enjoyed his breakthrough moment in 2011 when he clinched a maiden ranking event victory in the China Open immediately before unleashing his brand of “Naughty Snooker”, only to just miss out on a first world title to Higgins.

Later that same year, he was a UK champion and it wasn’t long after that he would be at the top of the rankings list.

However, while success in the bigger events was subsequently supposed to come easily, it proved to be anything but for the gifted Englishman.

Trump’s career up until the end of 2018 had been one of inconsistency, generally there or thereabouts in the higher echelons of the sport but unable to stamp his authority on rivals on a permanent basis.

A return of a handful of ranking titles was solid but, after a few limp exits and near misses in the World Championship in particular, there were queries about whether he had the mental fortitude for the long slog in Sheffield.

Capturing the prestigious Masters in January appeared to completely transform his mindset and Trump has gone from strength to strength since.

A World Grand Prix victory soon after meant that he went to the Crucible with his confidence high, but it was almost over as soon as it began as he just about held on to deny Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in a dramatic first round decider.

When Trump lost to Rory McLeod at the same stage two years previously, he was criticised for his inability to produce when his back was against the wall.

The 10-9 victory over the Thai in April then served as a signal that his temperament had improved, highlighted again this season with several tight wins, which will largely go forgotten but have helped him to extend his ranking event winning tally to a handsome 14.

After beating Un-Nooh, Trump played arguably the best snooker ever by a player who would go on to lift the world trophy, particularly in the final as he gained revenge on Higgins by firing in a record seven centuries in an 18-9 defeat of the Scot.

First-time world champions are supposed to struggle throughout the following campaign but Trump has instead looked in his element.

Silverware came in the International Championship, World Open, and a defence of the Northern Ireland Open – where he again beat O’Sullivan, just as he had done a year earlier in Belfast when his remarkable run of form all began.

The only disappointment for Trump was that he couldn’t add the UK Championship crown and become only the third player to win all three Triple Crown majors in a calendar year.

Trump, though, looks to have acquired the kind of winning mentality required that could potentially see him end up in the conversation as being one of the best snooker players ever.

There’s a long way to go for that but an interesting article by snooker journalist Hector Nunns recently revealed a laser eye treatment that Trump had undergone in an effort to fix a long-term issue with his sight.

Trump had been careful to keep the problem quiet, except from those close to him, as he didn’t want to use it as an excuse during past failures.

Seemingly now mended, a healthy Trump has become an ominous force to contend with for those around him at the top of the game.

Whether he will be able to replicate this kind of form on an annual basis remains to be seen but there can be no doubting that the end of this decade will be remembered most for his imposing standard of play.

Judd Trump is the 2019 Player of the Year.