Judd Trump powered through to the last 32 of the Xi’an Grand Prix as the new ranking event got under way on Monday in China.
Trump emerged with the silverware in his last trip to Asia, capturing the non-ranking Shanghai Masters crown in July.
The Englishman, who turns 35 on Tuesday, has next set his sights on reclaiming the world number one position on the official rankings list.
Trump spent much of the last campaign on the brink of returning to top spot but couldn’t quite shake off his world number two status.
While he was chasing Ronnie O’Sullivan during the 2023/24 term, Mark Allen is the target this time around and there isn’t much separating the pair.
Reaching the final this week could prove to be enough to see Trump move back to the summit depending on the Northern Irishman’s run.
A 29th career ranking title, which would take him above Steve Davis on the all-time winners list, would guarantee him that coveted status.
“I’m always a bit sceptical about how I’m going to start the new season,” Judd Trump, who thrashed Ma Hailong 5-0 on day one in Xi’an, told the World Snooker Tour.
“I don’t normally miss the first tournament, which I did just to give myself a little bit of extra time to practice and get myself ready.”
“I ended up playing probably one of my best tournaments of my career I think in Shanghai with the way I played.
“So yeah, I’m full of confidence. It’s obviously very difficult to win back-to-back events, but it’s something that I managed last season.
“Hopefully, I can continue it in this event. The setup is a little bit different this season with a few of the big ones right at the start of the season.
“It’s very important to get off to a quick start and that’s something I’ve already done.
“When I travel, I feel like that’s maybe when I play my best snooker. I don’t think it’s much to do with the conditions.
“I feel like playing in front of new crowds and different faces is more inspiring to me – my record kind of speaks for itself in the new tournaments.
“There’s just something about travel that I like, and it seems to bring out the best in me.
“For me, I feel like I’ve been that [dominant] player for maybe the last four or five years now.
“If you look at titles won in that five-year period, I think I’m quite a way clear.
“For me, my aim this year is just to win as much as possible and try and get back to number one in the world.
“When I was dominating for that spell, the world number one kind of added a bit of extra oomph and really helped the mindset.”
Trump compiled breaks of 69, 63, 60, and 54 as he comfortably reached the last 32 at the Qujiang E-Sports Centre.
He was joined in the third round of the competition by the likes of Mark Williams, Gary Wilson, Jack Lisowski, and Si Jiahui.
John Higgins bowed out in unexpected fashion, however, with the Scot losing a 5-4 thriller to Thailand’s Sunny Akani.
World Championship finalist Jak Jones and David Gilbert, who is yet to lose a match this season, were among the others to make it through to the last 32.
The round of 128 also concluded on day one of the tournament with several held-over qualifying fixtures contested at the venue.
World champion Kyren Wilson, world number one Mark Allen, and pre-tournament betting favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan all safely progressed.
However, there was huge disappointment for the home fans as Ding Junhui was edged out by Alfie Burden in a decider.
On Tuesday, the remaining encounters from the round of 64 take place.
2024 Xi’an Grand Prix draw
Round of 128
Top Half
Kyren Wilson 5-2 Haris Tahir
He Guoqiang 5-4 Ashley Carty
Anthony McGill 5-0 Xing Zihao
Ricky Walden 5-3 Liam Davies
John Higgins 5-2 Alexander Ursenbacher
Sunny Akani 5-2 Fan Zhengyi
Dean Young 5-3 Robert Milkins
Jimmy Robertson 5-1 Huang Jiahao
Elliot Slessor 5-0 Manasawin Phetmalaikul
Chris Wakelin 5-4 Rory Thor
Mark Davis 5-3 Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Mark Williams 5-0 Liam Graham
Jamie Jones 5-2 Mostafa Dorgham
Stuart Bingham 5-1 Zhou Jinhao
Xu Si 5-4 Jiang Jun
Ding Junhui 4-5 Alfie Burden
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-0 Wang Yuchen
Révész Bulcsú 5-0 David Grace
Neil Robertson 5-2 Allan Taylor
Yuan Sijun 5-1 Bai Yulu
Zhang Anda 5-1 Oliver Lines
Graeme Dott 5-2 Ma Shaojun
Hossein Vafaei 5-1 Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Dylan Emery 5-2 Jackson Page
Amir Sarkhosh 5-3 Joshua Thomond
Si Jiahui 5-4 Jimmy White
Gong Chenzhi 5-4 Anthony Hamilton
Tom Ford 5-3 Stan Moody
Matthew Selt 5-2 Ian Burns
Joe O’Connor 5-3 Duane Jones
Zak Surety 5-2 Sanderson Lam
Hammad Miah w/o Luca Brecel
Bottom Half
Judd Trump 5-2 Antony Kowalski
Ma Hailong 5-3 Martin O’Donnell
Lyu Haotian 5-2 Baipat Siripaporn
Artemijs Zizins 5-3 Robbie Williams
Jak Jones 5-4 Robbie McGuigan
Tian Pengfei 5-0 Farakh Ajaib
Jack Lisowski 5-1 Ross Muir
Joe Perry 5-0 Mink Nutcharut
Jordan Brown 5-2 Liam Pullen
David Gilbert 5-1 Reanne Evans
Ben Mertens 5-4 Simon Blackwell
Gary Wilson 5-4 Long Zehuang
Paul Deaville 5-3 Wu Yize
Pang Junxu 5-2 Michael Holt
Aaron Hill 5-2 Chris Totten
Mark Selby 5-3 Wang Xinbo
Shaun Murphy 5-1 Mitchell Mann
Jamie Clarke 5-0 Cao Jin
Noppon Saengkham 5-3 Andrew Pagett
Dominic Dale 5-4 Mohammed Shehab
Daniel Wells 5-4 Ali Carter
Julien Leclercq 5-4 Ben Woollaston
Zhou Yuelong 5-1 Haydon Pinhey
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-3 Lei Peifan
Matthew Stevens 5-0 Andrew Higginson
Ryan Day 5-4 Cheung Ka Wai
Scott Donaldson w/o Lim Kok Leong
Barry Hawkins 5-1 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Xiao Guodong 5-2 Iulian Boiko
Stephen Maguire 5-1 Ken Doherty
David Lilley 5-3 Louis Heathcote
Mark Allen 5-2 Liu Hongyu
Round of 64
Top Half
Kyren Wilson 5-2 He Guoqiang
Anthony McGill 3-5 Ricky Walden
John Higgins 4-5 Sunny Akani
Dean Young 4-5 Jimmy Robertson
Elliot Slessor 2-5 Chris Wakelin
Mark Davis 2-5 Mark Williams
Jamie Jones 3-5 Stuart Bingham
Xu Si 5-4 Alfie Burden
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-2 Bulcsú Révész
Neil Robertson 2-5 Yuan Sijun
Zhang Anda 2-5 Graeme Dott
Hossein Vafaei 5-3 Dylan Emery
Amir Sarkhosh 3-5 Si Jiahui
Gong Chenzhi 5-1 Tom Ford
Matthew Selt 5-4 Joe O’Connor
Zak Surety 3-5 Hammad Miah
Bottom Half
Judd Trump 5-0 Ma Hailong
Lyu Haotian 5-2 Artemijs Zizins
Jak Jones 5-3 Tian Pengfei
Jack Lisowski 5-2 Joe Perry
Jordan Brown 2-5 David Gilbert
Ben Mertens 1-5 Gary Wilson
Paul Deaville 0-5 Pang Junxu
Aaron Hill 0-5 Mark Selby
Shaun Murphy 5-0 Jamie Clarke
Noppon Saengkham 3-5 Dominic Dale
Daniel Wells 5-3 Julien Leclercq
Zhou Yuelong 2-5 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Matthew Stevens 2-5 Ryan Day
Barry Hawkins w/o Scott Donaldson
Xiao Guodong 5-1 Stephen Maguire
David Lilley 1-5 Mark Allen
Round of 32
Top Half
Kyren Wilson 5-3 Ricky Walden
Sunny Akani 3-5 Jimmy Robertson
Chris Wakelin 2-5 Mark Williams
Stuart Bingham 4-5 Xu Si
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-1 Yuan Sijun
Hossein Vafaei w/o Graeme Dott
Si Jiahui 3-5 Gong Chenzhi
Matthew Selt 5-2 Hammad Miah
Bottom Half
Judd Trump 5-1 Lyu Haotian
Jak Jones 5-4 Jack Lisowski
David Gilbert 5-3 Gary Wilson
Pang Junxu 4-5 Mark Selby
Shaun Murphy 2-5 Dominic Dale
Daniel Wells 5-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
Ryan Day 3-5 Barry Hawkins
Xiao Guodong 2-5 Mark Allen
Round of 16
Kyren Wilson 5-4 Jimmy Robertson
Mark Williams 4-5 Xu Si
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-0 Hossein Vafaei
Gong Chenzhi 4-5 Matthew Selt
Judd Trump 5-1 Jak Jones
David Gilbert 5-4 Mark Selby
Dominic Dale 1-5 Daniel Wells
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Mark Allen
Quarter-Finals (bo9)
Kyren Wilson 5-1 Xu Si
Ronnie O’Sullivan 5-4 Matthew Selt
Judd Trump 5-2 David Gilbert
Daniel Wells 5-3 Barry Hawkins
Semi-Finals (bo11)
Kyren Wilson 6-4 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Judd Trump 6-1 Daniel Wells
Final (bo19)
Kyren Wilson 10-8 Judd Trump
Featured photo credit: WST
