Judd Trump feels his brilliant achievements in snooker do not get the recognition they deserve and he feels more underappreciated now than ever.
The world number one is enjoying another fantastic season, winning the UK Championship, Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters and Shanghai Masters this season.
At 35-years-old has has racked up 30 ranking titles, with only Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins boasting more.
While Trump is clearly rated extremely highly by any sensible snooker judge, he does not feel like he is getting the credit he deserves, noting his record six ranking titles in a season as a record that is ‘forgotten about a little bit.’
Asked if he feels underappreciated, he said: ‘I think now more than ever I am.
‘For my age I’ve won a lot of events and achieved a lot of things in snooker.
Winning six ranking titles in a season gets forgotten about a little bit. I think it’s an extremely tough record to break.
‘The amount of times I’ve managed to win four, five or six events in a season consistently. I’m proud of myself for what I’ve achieved. I don’t need other people to tell me how great it is, but it would be nice for people to recognise it.
‘It’s probably something that happens when you retire. It seems to be the same in every sport, you’re not appreciated or people don’t appreciate what you’ve achieved until the end of your career.’
Trump also feels that things can be exaggerated when they go against him, including his record against world champion Kyren Wilson.
The world champ downed Trump in the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and Northern Ireland Open earlier this season, before the Ace got one back on him with a win in the UK Championship semi-final.
The world number one and world champion have a good rivalry going on right now, but Trump is keen to remind people that he has had the upper hand for some time.
‘I think my record has gone a little bit unnoticed. I don’t think he’d beaten me in a ranking event for five years before he beat me in the first final,’ Trump said, with Wilson’s Xi’an win actually his first over Trump in a ranking event since 2020.
‘I think it was seven times in a row I’d beaten him. Suddenly he beats me twice in a row and there’s a massive deal about it, but nothing was said when he couldn’t beat me for five years.
‘No matter how much I prove myself, if someone beats me they’ve got a good record against me without looking at the facts. There aren’t many players who do have a good record against me.’
Trump did tip his cap to Wilson, saying that talk surrounding their matches is not the Warrior’s fault and they have developed a good rivalry.
‘It’s not him that’s making up this rivalry. It’s a great rivalry we’ve got,’ he said. ‘It’s great for snooker. I’m really glad there’s someone a similar age to me coming through.
‘I’ve been battling against John [Higgins], Mark [Williams] and Ronnie [O’Sullivan] for the last five or ten years on my own. That’s how it’s felt, apart from Mark Selby.
‘I kind of feel now there’s someone there to have a real rivalry with.’
Trump heads to the Masters this week hoping to win the title for a third time and continue his quest for a remarkable quartet of trophies this season.
The Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters has been dubbed the ‘fourth major’ this season and after winning the UK Championship, Trump is on course for a first ever Grand Slam if he can land the Masters and World Championship.
Clearly there is a long way to go for that to happen, but he feels like that would see him get the respect he is looking for.
‘If I was to reach the semis or the final I think there would be something in the back of my mind,’ he said ahead of his Masters campaign.
‘To win all four of those tournaments would be absolutely incredible. I hope then people would take me serious.’
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