JUDD'S WEIGHT
This post was supposed to come out a few weeks ago, but was delayed in respect to the passing of the snooker legend Ray Reardon. My thoughts are with the Reardon family and I can only express my gratitude to Ray and everything the six-times World Champion has done to our sport.
On the table, Judd Trump is off to a winning start as he tored the field apart in winning the Shanghai Masters - highlight to a 10-3 win over Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semifinal, ending the Rocket's run of four consecutive titles in the event.
Judd has set the bar incredibly high for himself, having played so well and won so much in the last five years. However, like I've said here before he's a bit of a "victim" of his own potential.
Despite all his wins, every non-triple crown title gets diminished and every triple crown failure gets magnified with Judd. Although I do agree that in the end those are the events that matters most and where you build your legacy, I think sometimes the fans are too heavy on Judd Trump.
And I say that because, first of all, his record in Triple Crown events is far from ordinary: he's won all three at least once, having won four out of eight finals. Secondly, taking the Triple Crowns apart he's won another 20 titles since 2019 (18 rankers + 1 Champion of Champions and 1 Shanghai Masters).
These results and performances can't be taken for granted. Trump's greatness and the potential he has to chase and set records in the future already gets him all these comparisons with the greats, but we have to give him time. He might get to the level of chasing some of the many records established by Ronnie, or he may never get close to the achievements of fellow greats Selby and Higgins... It'll all depend on the longevity he can manage at the highest level, but whoever has played snooker before and tried to imrpove their level in any standard should appreciate just how good Judd Trump is.
I just want to have another word on the Shanghai Masters. It was a great event like we're used to in Shanghai, but there was something that bothered me a little: Kyren Wilson's "would've been" first televised match after being crowned World Champion not happening on table one.
In the end Wilson lost 0-6 to Zhou Yuelong, and under normal circumstances John Higgins' match against Shaun Murphy would've been a TV choice. Add to that the fact that Higgins was only two centuries away from becoming the second ever player to reach 1,000 career centuries, and naturally that match had to be on TV.
But the issue I have is that you have to make sure the newly crowned World Champion gets his next match on TV, even if you have to adapt your schedule. For instance, I'm sure that they would never have Ronnie's match at the same time as Higgin's because the broadcasters would want to make sure they have both matches on.
Fans often relate to snooker's lack of new stars, but the players are there - there's a responsibility to be addressed to the broadcasters and promoters. By the way Jak Jones, the sport's newest star who just made the final of the World Championship, also didn't have his match on table one.
The field in Shanghai was indeed full of stars and the TV choices would be controversial in any way, but I hope these new stars have enough TV time throughout the rest of season.
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