Judd Trump is not on board with there being a ‘massive favourite’ at the World Snooker Championship, after Zhao Xintong started the tournament at a very short price with the bookmakers.
The defending world champion has been in fabulous form, winning the World Grand Prix, Players Championship and Tour Championship since the start of February.
Having proved his Crucible mettle last year, Zhao has been widely backed to lift the trophy again and he got his defence off to a good start with a 10-7 win over Liam Highfield on Saturday.
Trump certainly thinks the Cyclone is capable of winning the title again, but does not think anyone should be going in as a runaway favourite at the World Championship.
He points out that the last three champions have been Zhao, Kyren Wilson and Luca Brecel, all winning at long odds with the bookmakers.
‘I don’t agree when people say there’s massive favourites,’ said the world number one after a 10-5 first round win over Gary Wilson.
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‘You don’t know how you’re going to play until you get out there in the World Championship.
‘So no, I think there’s four or five players that are in the mix that are playing well. But as we’ve seen in the past three years, it’s kind of three surprises, really.
‘So you don’t really know what’s going to happen.’
Trump pointed out that Ding Junhui, quoted at 50/1 before the event, looked very good in a round one win over Dave Gilbert and could be a contender.
‘There’s obviously favourites, but this year, Ding had a lot of time off and he looked very sharp in his first game,’ he said. ‘So, you don’t really know what’s going to happen.’
Trump – who will take on either Si Jiahui or Hossein Vafaei in the second round – said he was pleased to hear the announcement that the World Championship will remain at the Crucible until at least 2045.
The 36-year-old feels the Sheffield theatre creates a pressurised environment all of its own, where only truly elite players can prosper.
‘I think it’s good and I’m glad that they also know that they do need to improve it a little bit at the same time,’ he told the BBC.
‘I think for people like Steve [Davis] that have been here for the whole time it’s been here, it’s got so much history.
‘There are times in the past where I’m thinking, should it move? Is it good enough? But now I’ve got to the point where I’m happy it’s staying. There’s so much history and the pressure cannot be replicated in any other venue.
‘I think it sorts the top, top players out from the rest. I think if you moved it elsewhere you’d get more shock results.
‘I just think there’s such a different pressure in the World Championship, in the Crucible that you don’t get anywhere else.’