Judd Trump said he was happy to get his 2026/27 snooker season off to a positive start after beating Kyren Wilson in the 2026 Shanghai Masters final on Sunday.
The Englishman emerged as an 11-6 winner against one of his closest rivals, ending the week in China with the trophy raised aloft and a champion’s cheque worth £210,000.
Trump didn’t produce his best game in the final but won several close frames against his countryman to seize control.
Earlier in the week, the world number one compiled seven century breaks across orchestrating victories over Barry Hawkins, John Higgins, and Wu Yize.
“It was a good win,” Trump told the World Snooker Tour. “It was a tough game compared to the other ones.”
“For the other ones, I was kind of in flow. The table played a little bit more difficult in the final, and that is maybe why the standard wasn’t quite as good.
“Any win against him is good to me, because he has beaten me in the last few finals. It was nice to start the season in that kind of manner and get one over him.
“This tournament is amazing, and I love coming to Shanghai. In the first tournament of the year, it’s always a little bit unknown what’s going to happen.
“I put in a lot of work on the practice table and new tips that I’m trying to get used to.
“When you come to Shanghai, it’s a little bit heavier and more tricky to get the feel of the table, but it seemed to be paying off in the first few games.
“I played as good as I have done for a while.”
Although regarded as one of the most prestigious invitational tournaments on the calendar, with no ranking points on offer the Shanghai Masters didn’t do anything to help Trump’s current situation in the rankings.
The 36 year-old remains in top spot as things stand, but with a huge sum of points soon to be deducted from his rolling two-year tally, he is likely to drop down the pecking order.
Trump will be hoping that his victory in Shanghai can act as a springboard for further success in ranking events to come.
“Especially with the Chinese players like Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize now, and there are quite a few other players up there in the rankings, it’s important,” Trump said.
“I think Kyren struggled a bit in the ranking events [last season]. I did okay, but there are still people just behind us now.”
“You want to show them that you are still the best in the world, and it’s important to be winning big events like this.
“It has been great match practice as it’s been three months since I’ve really played anyone, so it was a little bit unknown.
“I think it was always going to be tricky with Saudi obviously no longer on the calendar, which I won two years ago. So the points are coming off.
“I think it’s going to be an uphill struggle to keep that number one spot, but hopefully come mid-season or the end of the season, I can make sure I’m back there.
“I love being number one – it’s something that I’m very happy about. But if you are going to drop down the rankings a little bit, it’s always nice to win these big events like the Shanghai Masters.
“The last time I won in Shanghai, I had a great season. You need to be winning events like this to test yourself against the best.
“It also gives you the most confidence as well. If I am going to have a great season, it was important to get off to a good start.
“I’ve done that now, so I just need to do the rest.”
Next up for Trump will be the China Open, which commences on Saturday as it returns to the snooker schedule for the first time since 2019.
Featured photo credit: WST
