Judd Trump: the difficult second album?
And so the new season is almost upon us.
At this moment in time, one player is bagging the headlines for all the right reasons (well, it's almost all good).
Judd Trump went about his business very quietly for most of last season. He managed to gain valuable experience by treating the PTCs with respect, and even managed to win one of them.
And them came the China Open. Trump was superb, from start to finish. He showed us just how much firepower he possesses from an attacking standpoint, but for me it was his surprising aptitude in the safety department, matching and even bettering experienced professionals, that impressed most. Mark Selby, one of the best players in the world, did nothing wrong throughout the final, but he was beaten by a freak.
We all know what happened in Sheffield. In my opinion, he was the best of the 32 players, but was ultimately taken down by a supreme all round matchplayer.
Trump is still an unsmoothened diamond, but the potential has been exposed for all to see. Big statement this but I have no problem with it: he's the most naturally gifted player since O'Sullivan. In my time of watching snooker, he is second only to Sullivan in this department.
And now comes the difficult second album, the follow up to the mindblowing debut record.
This will be Trump's first season entering as one of the contenders for every title. But then again, he has had to deal with glorious hype all through his career, answering pretty abruptly last year.
We don't have enough experience of Trump to know whether he will become a super-consistent winning machine in the vein of a Hendry or Higgins, or whether he will become a more every now and then character like Sullivan, where he can hit form randomly and blow all before him away.
I strongly believe he is good enough to become the very best, and I actually wouldn't be surprised if he became the best player in the world within the next year. But I know one thing for definite: Trump is great for the game, and it will be fantastic to watch him for years to come.
At this moment in time, one player is bagging the headlines for all the right reasons (well, it's almost all good).
Judd Trump went about his business very quietly for most of last season. He managed to gain valuable experience by treating the PTCs with respect, and even managed to win one of them.
And them came the China Open. Trump was superb, from start to finish. He showed us just how much firepower he possesses from an attacking standpoint, but for me it was his surprising aptitude in the safety department, matching and even bettering experienced professionals, that impressed most. Mark Selby, one of the best players in the world, did nothing wrong throughout the final, but he was beaten by a freak.
We all know what happened in Sheffield. In my opinion, he was the best of the 32 players, but was ultimately taken down by a supreme all round matchplayer.
Trump is still an unsmoothened diamond, but the potential has been exposed for all to see. Big statement this but I have no problem with it: he's the most naturally gifted player since O'Sullivan. In my time of watching snooker, he is second only to Sullivan in this department.
And now comes the difficult second album, the follow up to the mindblowing debut record.
This will be Trump's first season entering as one of the contenders for every title. But then again, he has had to deal with glorious hype all through his career, answering pretty abruptly last year.
We don't have enough experience of Trump to know whether he will become a super-consistent winning machine in the vein of a Hendry or Higgins, or whether he will become a more every now and then character like Sullivan, where he can hit form randomly and blow all before him away.
I strongly believe he is good enough to become the very best, and I actually wouldn't be surprised if he became the best player in the world within the next year. But I know one thing for definite: Trump is great for the game, and it will be fantastic to watch him for years to come.
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Tubberlad - Posts: 5009
- Joined: 02 October 2009
- Location: Ireland
- Snooker Idol: Ronnie OSullivan
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