Judd Trump will attempt to replicate last year’s heroics as he seeks to defend his Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters title.
The lucrative ranking event gets under way on Friday, but as the top seed Trump won’t join the fray until the last 32 of the competition next week.
Still, the world number one already has aspirations of continuing his reign in the Kingdom.
Twelve months ago, Trump produced a remarkable clearance to deny Mark Williams in a 10-9 title-deciding thriller.
The Welshman had looked set to take the title but missed what was effectively championship-winning red to break down on 62.
Trump responded by potting a stunning cut-back red into the middle pocket and proceeded to make a 72 clearance to clinch victory instead.
Success provided him with a jackpot prize worth £500,000, matching the champion’s cheque on offer at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
Fans can dream of winning that kind of money at the casino with plenty of online games at live roulette online Australia and Win Spirit also displaying snooker odds for all the latest events on the calendar.
“It was probably one of my best wins ever,” Judd Trump told the World Snooker Tour on the eve of the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
“I’ve won a lot of big tournaments and done a lot of great things in the game, but that is definitely up there.”
“It’s probably in the top three or top five moments. To do it under that pressure, the clearance I was able to produce, doesn’t come around very often.
“Considering the magnitude of that final, it’s probably the best clearance I’ve ever done.
“I’ve always had a great record in new tournaments, I don’t know what it is.
“But I always feel like I take an extra gear in that tournament just to produce the goods.
“I always want to be the first winner of any new tournament, so I knew it was a big one.
“I nearly went out in the first round, I was 4-0 down [to Wu Yize] and looking like flying home immediately.
“I managed to scrape through that one, and as we’ve seen in so many tournaments down the years, when someone comes through a tricky game, they end up getting their second life and going on to win the tournament.
“So it was a great tournament for me, and I’m looking forward to being back there and trying to replicate what I did last year.
“It’s great to have something on equal terms [as the World Championship in a financial sense].
“I hope in the future there’ll be three or four of that, and we can replicate something similar to golf and tennis where there’s not just one big major.
“I think the future of the game is great. It’s great to have these tournaments spaced out at the start of the season and at the end of the season.”
The 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters takes place from August 8th to August 16th at the Green Halls in Jeddah.
The opening match for Judd Trump will be on Tuesday, with Noppon Saengkham and Matthew Selt among some of the opponents he could potentially face.
More details on the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, including the first round draw, is available by clicking here.
Featured image credit: WST
