Judd Trump will enter the fray at the 2025 Masters when he takes on Barry Hawkins in the first round at the Alexandra Palace in London.
It was the Hawk who Trump beat to lift the UK Championship trophy just over a month ago at the Barbican Centre in York.
That prestigious title added to his earlier success this season at the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, which has been controversially mooted as the sport’s fourth major.
Trump, therefore, is halfway to a new Grand Slam in snooker with this week’s Masters and the upcoming World Championship in Sheffield on the agenda to next conquer during the ongoing campaign.
The latter two events in addition to the UK Championship have generally been perceived as the elite competitions to win in recent decades – commonly referred to as the Triple Crown.
The trio of tournaments has garnered prestige through tradition as the longest-running on the calendar and also through their association with broadcaster the BBC.
Up until about 15 years ago, however, the BBC aired another important event known as the Grand Prix (also known as the LG Cup).
And bridging two seasons across 2002 and 2003, Mark Williams actually managed to win all four of those events to complete the then so-called ‘Grand Slam’ – a widely lauded feat at the time.
Judd Trump, meanwhile, is the favourite in the outright betting market. Avail of this bet365 bonus code in Vietnam to back Trump at 2/1 to win the 2025 Masters.
It was Williams, in fact, who Trump narrowly edged to glory at the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in Riyadh at the back end of last summer.
The Welshman had been within a couple of pots of emerging victoriously but missed a simple ball with the winning line in sight, and Trump eventually cleared to pocket the £500,000 top prize.
That rich jackpot, plus the £250,000 that Trump took home from the UK Championship, has helped the Englishman extend his lead as the runaway world number one in snooker.
World champion Kyren Wilson has done his best to keep up, but any suggestion that Trump isn’t the best player in the world at present is nothing short of ludicrous.
There are no ranking points on offer at the Masters this week, but the 35 year-old will have another chance to prove his worth on one of snooker’s biggest stages.
There have been question marks over Trump’s ability to win the biggest tournaments on a regular basis.
But since 2019, Trump has won four out of the 18 Triple Crown events on the calendar – a strike rate only matched by Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Whether fans truly recognise the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters as the fourth major, meanwhile, is of course up for debate.
But the fact remains that it has quickly become one of the biggest tournaments to win on the calendar, such is the weight its prize fund carries.
Trump has made a constant habit over the last number of campaigns of landing notable titles carrying the most lucrative sums of money – including another £210,000 in this term’s Shanghai Masters invitational.
His win over Hawkins at the UK Championship took his career tally of ranking titles to 30, only one shy of all-time great John Higgins.
The 2019 world champion is the pre-tournament betting favourite to add the 2025 Masters crown to his ever-growing collection of silverware.
If he were to emerge with the Paul Hunter Trophy for the third time on Sunday, talk would very much turn to the Crucible Theatre and an unlikely challenge for the new Grand Slam at the first time of asking.
“If I was to reach the semis or the final, I think there would be something in the back of my mind,” Judd Trump said before the Masters.
“To win all four of those tournaments would be absolutely incredible. I hope then people would take me serious.”
Judd Trump plays Barry Hawkins in the first round of the 2025 Masters on Tuesday at 1pm UTC.
Featured photo credit: WST
The conjecture over whether the Saudi event is a major and the Triple Crown concept being so established means we may not hear too much of this being a ‘Grand Slam’ attempt. That may change if he wins this week though.
I was really impressed with Selby last night. An excellent all round performance. He scored heavy but produced two great pressure clearances as well.
You won’t hear much of it on the BBC, that’s for sure. But there’ll be word of it elsewhere. I’m not the first to refer to it.
Selby looked like the best player so far, amazing he hasn’t gone beyond the quarters in so long.
I’ve heard Dave Hendon refer to it but nobody else although I’m not on social media anywhere near as much as I once was. Can understand the BBC not pushing it as they don’t cover the Saudi Masters but World Snooker have been oddly quiet about it given they awarded the Riyadh tournament major status. I’m not happy with playing in Saudi Arabia but I also think history plays a part in major status. Golf has some events carrying bigger money than the majors and yet they’re not deemed as prestigious.
It is but underlines the incredible quality from 1 to 16 in the game that wasn’t quite as strong throughout the elite bracket even twenty years ago. I’ve tipped a Selby v Trump final. I hope to be wrong as want Ding or Murphy to win the Paul Hunter Trophy.