Cazoo Masters 1st Round : Judd Trump v Mark Allen

I thought Judd had grown out of that a few years ago after he got his brother on board. It seemed he stopped acting like he deserved to win everything, kept a lower profile, and quietly put himself through the proper application of practice that brought about that WC-winning form.

Something has slipped up since then. Whether it’s that win in itself, that he’s got the wrong people around him, or a combination of both, I’m not completely sure. But he’s got way too many distractions. He doesn’t strike me as being especially bright, and you get the feeling certain people around him look to use his status to further their own agendas. Certain people in and around the game want to be noticed. They want a way of getting their ideas into the conversation. And I think Judd has been used. They’ve sewn seeds knowing he will like the ideas and run with them, get the ideas noticed, while Judd himself gets the satisfaction of people listening to him and ‘his’ ideas.

Take the 9 Ball. Judd was suddenly talking like he was some sort of businessman, a promoter trying to ‘break America’. He had all the patter. That doesn’t come out of nowhere. It comes from the sycophantic influence of someone whose business it is to raise the profile of their ideas. You’ve also got the whole thing with the darts player polo shirts, and so on. Judd’s being ‘finessed’. He’s rubbing shoulders with people who aren’t around him for all the right reasons. But he’ll never realise that, because as long as he’s got people around him telling him he’s right, he’ll feel secure.

I hope he goes back to just being a snooker player. The stuff he played in that World Championship was hugely entertaining. If he wants more people to like him - and believe me, he does - he needs to focus completely on doing the one thing he’s best at.

Prop wrote:I thought Judd had grown out of that a few years ago after he got his brother on board. It seemed he stopped acting like he deserved to win everything, kept a lower profile, and quietly put himself through the proper application of practice that brought about that WC-winning form.

Something has slipped up since then. Whether it’s that win in itself, that he’s got the wrong people around him, or a combination of both, I’m not completely sure. But he’s got way too many distractions. He doesn’t strike me as being especially bright, and you get the feeling certain people around him look to use his status to further their own agendas. Certain people in and around the game want to be noticed. They want a way of getting their ideas into the conversation. And I think Judd has been used. They’ve sewn seeds knowing he will like the ideas and run with them, get the ideas noticed, while Judd himself gets the satisfaction of people listening to him and ‘his’ ideas.

Take the 9 Ball. Judd was suddenly talking like he was some sort of businessman, a promoter trying to ‘break America’. He had all the patter. That doesn’t come out of nowhere. It comes from the sycophantic influence of someone whose business it is to raise the profile of their ideas. You’ve also got the whole thing with the darts player polo shirts, and so on. Judd’s being ‘finessed’. He’s rubbing shoulders with people who aren’t around him for all the right reasons. But he’ll never realise that, because as long as he’s got people around him telling him he’s right, he’ll feel secure.

I hope he goes back to just being a snooker player. The stuff he played in that World Championship was hugely entertaining. If he wants more people to like him - and believe me, he does - he needs to focus completely on doing the one thing he’s best at.

It doesn't help the attention that he used to get at a young age. The BBC practically opened their legs the first time he had a decent run in a tournament.

More than a decade later, they still act like Naughty Snooker was a hilarious joke.

chengdufan wrote:

Yanfan wrote:

Juddernaut88 wrote:

Yanfan wrote:

Juddernaut88 wrote:Yessssss get in there I thought Judd was going to go 5-3 down and but that was a big steal. He's also lost his last few deciders and I was thinking here we go again but fortunately he managed to take his chance in the decider.
Judd wasn't at his best by any means but his scoring was a lot better and I think overall he deserved the win just!

Congrats, Judders.

As I have mentioned in the past, when Yan is out, I switch my allegiance to Judd. So I am pleased that Judd came through.

Thanks mate we're probably the only current users on here that support him lol.

Yes. There's not many of us, is there? I don't know why. He's brilliant to watch. I don't really care if he doesn't want to wear a tie. Watching him play is all I care about.

Judd is brilliant to watch when he's playing well and I usually want him to win. Same with Ronnie.
Off the table, I dislike them as people, but for different reasons.
Judd is an egotist. He is desperate for people to like him and doesn't have a care in the world for the people who do.
Ronnie can't control his emotions, which sometimes results in his actions having a negative effect on others. He also has some questionable views. At heart though he is someone who cares about other people more than himself, which means he is much easier to warm to than Judd.

Judd does care about others, he does a lot for charity. Some people are just blinded by hatred towards him that they just like to go completely over the top with some of the things he says. Yes sometimes he can be a bit of a numpty with stuff he says but certainly no worse than what other players say/do.

SnookerFan wrote:

Prop wrote:I thought Judd had grown out of that a few years ago after he got his brother on board. It seemed he stopped acting like he deserved to win everything, kept a lower profile, and quietly put himself through the proper application of practice that brought about that WC-winning form.

Something has slipped up since then. Whether it’s that win in itself, that he’s got the wrong people around him, or a combination of both, I’m not completely sure. But he’s got way too many distractions. He doesn’t strike me as being especially bright, and you get the feeling certain people around him look to use his status to further their own agendas. Certain people in and around the game want to be noticed. They want a way of getting their ideas into the conversation. And I think Judd has been used. They’ve sewn seeds knowing he will like the ideas and run with them, get the ideas noticed, while Judd himself gets the satisfaction of people listening to him and ‘his’ ideas.

Take the 9 Ball. Judd was suddenly talking like he was some sort of businessman, a promoter trying to ‘break America’. He had all the patter. That doesn’t come out of nowhere. It comes from the sycophantic influence of someone whose business it is to raise the profile of their ideas. You’ve also got the whole thing with the darts player polo shirts, and so on. Judd’s being ‘finessed’. He’s rubbing shoulders with people who aren’t around him for all the right reasons. But he’ll never realise that, because as long as he’s got people around him telling him he’s right, he’ll feel secure.

I hope he goes back to just being a snooker player. The stuff he played in that World Championship was hugely entertaining. If he wants more people to like him - and believe me, he does - he needs to focus completely on doing the one thing he’s best at.

It doesn't help the attention that he used to get at a young age. The BBC practically opened their legs the first time he had a decent run in a tournament.

More than a decade later, they still act like Naughty Snooker was a hilarious joke.

True. People built him up as the next Ronnie O’Sullivan before he’d even won a thing. That’s not his fault, and especially at that young age it will have shaped his character.

I don’t dislike Judd. I certainly don’t hate him. It’s just so frustrating to see him burdening himself with ego when we saw for ourselves that he’d once managed to separate himself from all that crap.

Pink Ball wrote:

HappyCamper wrote:surrender by chemical brothers is the album of the day on steve lamacq on six music. very good album that.

Very good album indeed, but Dig Your Own Hole was an 11 out of 10 for me.

Both Surrender and Dig Your Own Hole are great, but I think Exit Planet Dust will always be my favourite.

Prop wrote:I thought Judd had grown out of that a few years ago after he got his brother on board. It seemed he stopped acting like he deserved to win everything, kept a lower profile, and quietly put himself through the proper application of practice that brought about that WC-winning form.

Something has slipped up since then. Whether it’s that win in itself, that he’s got the wrong people around him, or a combination of both, I’m not completely sure. But he’s got way too many distractions. He doesn’t strike me as being especially bright, and you get the feeling certain people around him look to use his status to further their own agendas. Certain people in and around the game want to be noticed. They want a way of getting their ideas into the conversation. And I think Judd has been used. They’ve sewn seeds knowing he will like the ideas and run with them, get the ideas noticed, while Judd himself gets the satisfaction of people listening to him and ‘his’ ideas.

Take the 9 Ball. Judd was suddenly talking like he was some sort of businessman, a promoter trying to ‘break America’. He had all the patter. That doesn’t come out of nowhere. It comes from the sycophantic influence of someone whose business it is to raise the profile of their ideas. You’ve also got the whole thing with the darts player polo shirts, and so on. Judd’s being ‘finessed’. He’s rubbing shoulders with people who aren’t around him for all the right reasons. But he’ll never realise that, because as long as he’s got people around him telling him he’s right, he’ll feel secure.

I hope he goes back to just being a snooker player. The stuff he played in that World Championship was hugely entertaining. If he wants more people to like him - and believe me, he does - he needs to focus completely on doing the one thing he’s best at.

Very good post this. Spot on

Juddernaut88 wrote:Judd does care about others, he does a lot for charity. Some people are just blinded by hatred towards him

I did a quick search on Google and found he auctioned off his World Championship winning shoes for charity. That does indeed seem to have been a generous act and most of the google front page was dedicated to pages about that. There are also some links to things he did as a teenager. Is there other stuff that he's done that isn't as widely publicised?

I don't hate Judd. I just think he's not a particularly pleasant person because he has given me the impression that he cares a lot more about himself than others. I do love watching him play snooker though.

I don't find Judd particularly good to watch. Yes he can do some amazing very entertaining pots, but something about the way he break builds leave me cold.

An in-form Ding is the most entertaining in my opinion. It feels like he's gently solving a puzzle with precise shots, whereas it feels like Judd smashes the puzzle to pieces!

However, it's great that there are different styles within the game for different people to enjoy.

McManusFan wrote:I don't find Judd particularly good to watch. Yes he can do some amazing very entertaining pots, but something about the way he break builds leave me cold.

An in-form Ding is the most entertaining in my opinion. It feels like he's gently solving a puzzle with precise shots, whereas it feels like Judd smashes the puzzle to pieces!

Agreed on both counts. Judd’s break building feels like brute force.

McManusFan wrote:I don't find Judd particularly good to watch. Yes he can do some amazing very entertaining pots, but something about the way he break builds leave me cold.

An in-form Ding is the most entertaining in my opinion. It feels like he's gently solving a puzzle with precise shots, whereas it feels like Judd smashes the puzzle to pieces!

However, it's great that there are different styles within the game for different people to enjoy.

Totally agree. Judd's style is smash the reds open and then pot them. That isn't particularly entertaining for me. I'd rather watch a craftsman at work. You choose a great example in Ding but I'd also add, and some may scoff, Selby. They will get the reds open in due course, obviously, they have to to compete in the modern game but they're also skilled at developing balls maybe one or two at a time with controlled cannons and careful manoeuvring of the cue-ball.

Trump is a bit of a narcissist and as a previous poster noted doesn't seem to be particularly bright. Like when he losses he is so slow to credit his opponent, it's like he can't actually believe someone could play better than him. Same with the Dubai debacle last year, he knew better than the experts regarding covid tests. So this inflated ego makes him entirely unlikeable.

I would say watching him play is a bit like watching Alex Higgins. You may get to see something spectacular, Nothing particularly graceful or artistic. It's all a bit sledgehammer albeit with some fantastic shots.