JUDD IS JUST WHAT THE GAME NEEDS

For the first time in a long time in snooker I feel like there is room for a new player to become the face of the sport. Ronnie O'Sullivan's second round defeat to Anthony McGill at the Crucible this year means that 2020/21 is the first season that he won't lift a Triple Crown trophy after 9 in a row from 2011/12 to 2019/20.

Ronnie has been the fans' favourite player in snooker for some 20 years now and how many times didn't we hear snooker was in trouble whenever e decided to step away? But the truth is that so far he managed to remain at the top and in the 2010's he was simply out of reach, winning tournament after tournament. Although still competitive this season reaching 5 ranking finals, O'Sullivan is yet to lift a trophy after his 6th World Title in August 2020. That's the perfect opportunity for Judd Trump to win this World Championship and take over. 

People might say he's been better than Ronnie for a couple years now, but he's still not the main man. And that's not just because Ronnie already has his history behind him and his loyal fans, it's also because Ronnie was a regular winner of the BBC events and Judd has not achieved that yet. Like I said, this season ended a 9-years run of seasons where Ronnie won at least one BBC event in it while Judd is yet to make it two consecutive seasons. 

Judd is the world number one yes, won 6 ranking titles in 2019/20 and another 5 this season, but we know it's the big ones that matter the most and people tend to like the big winners.

We all love snooker because of the sport itself, but every TV-worthy sport needs that soap opera behind it and that's why the game needs characters. 

Sport needs the flair guy who speaks his mind out and needs that "villain" guy who plays and speaks totally to the opposite of the fans' favourite player, but on top of it all they have to be winners. Just like O'Sullivan and Mark Selby have been for so many years.

Trump doesn't lack style, flair and strong opinions, as well as talent and dedication enough to be the best player in the world as he already is. But to be the main man you need to chase records, you have to be looking for being the greatest of all time, and a Triple Crown title every 3 seasons is fantastic but not enough.

Ronnie has set records and make no mistake, he can still add to his records as he remains a top-3 player, but records are there to be broken and as we come from an era to another we want to think that someone is taking the game to a higher level and then that's when that someone will become the main man.

We're lucky to have Ronnie, we really are, but I think that the torch might be passed on to Judd if he can confirm his favoritism and win this World Championship. 

I feel like the "main man" place already went up for grabs 10 years ago when Ronnie was struggling and Judd himself stormed into the scene, but Judd was a bit too young to keep up with that and little did we know that O'Sullivan was yet to find his best form.

Now we asume that Ronnie's best is behind him and even tough he'll remain a regular presence in the BBC winners' circle, Judd has everything he needs to dominate the Triple Crown events going forward and become the new face of snooker. Will he take his chance this time?

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