Snooker’s world number two will make the cueing crossover next week.
Judd Trump will face America’s Joe Magee in the first round of the US Open Pool Championship that takes place in Atlantic City next week.
Last week, the 2019 world snooker champion announced his intentions to make the switch in disciplines, temporarily at least, as he seeks to fill the current void on the 2021/22 snooker schedule.
A prestigious festival of pool with 256 entrants taking part, Trump will be taking his brand of ‘naughty’ play to the 9-ball pool arena, with $50,000 on offer for the player who can emerge with the coveted title.
In entering the US Open, Trump adds to a large list of snooker players who have formerly tried their hand at various forms of pool – including notable names such as Jimmy White, Steve Davis, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, and Tony Drago.
“I’ve been playing snooker for a long time and pool is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Trump told Matchroom Pool in the build-up to this year’s US Open.
“I never really had the opportunity or the space in between tournaments. I’ve kind of got a month off not doing anything else, and I’ve spoken to a couple of people behind the scenes that have been persuading me to try and have a go at it.”
“It always looks fun, and it’s something as a snooker player you always think it’s going to be quite easy, but I’ve had a couple of little practices and it’s a bit harder than it looks.
“I’m not really expecting much, for me it’s about trying new things and, who knows, in the future if pool picks up even more and we get time off I can hopefully combine the both of them.
“I think the US Open Pool Championship has got the most heritage and most prestige to it, and it’s been around a long, long time.
“Everyone in the world of pool knows it’s the tournament that, if you are going to win one, you want to win this one. For me, that’s what kind of attracted me, to go in at the deep end and at the biggest event, and see what I can do.”
The US Open Pool Championship, which is played under a double-elimination format until the round of 16, was first held in 1976 and is the longest-running major title on the calendar.
Germany’s Joshua Filler is the defending champion, with the action set to be screened live from September 13th to 18th on Sky Sports.
