Judd Trump Defends German Masters Crown

The Englishman has won four out of the six ranking event finals he’s participated in this season.

A relentless Judd Trump romped to a repeat victory in the German Masters with a 9-2 thrashing of Jack Lisowski in the final on Sunday.

In a one-sided affair, Trump compiled breaks of 119, 72, 65, 56, and 50 to see off the challenge of his close friend away from the table.

It marked the first time since 1995 that two consecutive ranking event title deciders featured the same two contenders.

Last month, Trump overcame Lisowski with a 10-7 triumph in the final of the World Grand Prix at the Marshall Arena.

While that ended up being a much closer battle thanks to a late revival from the underdog, both matches suffered from slow starts by Lisowski.

It was imperative that the 29 year-old, looking to finally claim a maiden title of this status after several near misses, established a foothold early on.

But any momentum was lost after losing the fourth frame when he had the opportunity to make it 2-2 at the interval of the first session.

As it was, Trump took it and the remaining four of the afternoon to establish a comprehensive 7-1 lead.

That became 8-1 upon the resumption of play in the evening, and even though Lisowski briefly stopped the rot with a pair of 53 breaks, the world number one completed the rout in the 11th frame with the game’s only century.

In addition to the £80,000 German Masters top prize, Trump also got the opportunity to raise aloft the Brandon Parker Trophy – renamed in honour of the late promoter and manager – for the second successive season.

Playing for the first time in 2021 after missing the Masters due to a positive COVID-19 test, the 31 year-old wasn’t actually at his best this week.

But losing has become an unacceptable option for a player who is utterly dominant on the circuit at the moment.

Trump’s recovery from 5-1 down in his semi-final clash with Barry Hawkins represented arguably the comeback of the campaign so far.

His subsequent success in the final means that he has taken his career tally of ranking titles to 21 – just one behind Mark Williams in fifth place on the all-time list.

An incredible 13 of those have come in the last 27 months, dating back to the 2018 Northern Ireland Open when his career completely turned around.

For Lisowski, the Cheltenham cueist once again impressed en route to another showdown with silverware on the line.

However, this defeat means he has now lost in all five of his appearances in ranking event finals.

Lisowski has lost to Trump twice, Neil Robertson on two occasions, and Mark Selby once, highlighting what a tough school it is to etch one’s name onto a trophy.

But Lisowski’s temperamental B-game, in addition to nerves which appear to get the better of him in the defining moments, are holding him back from becoming a top star.

Trump possesses all of the necessary attributes and more, as his ruthless pursuit of the records continues at a frantic pace.

Featured photo credit: WST