EXCELLENT Judd Trump was proclaimed as the champion-elect by vanquished Shaun Murphy, who said: You might as well give him the trophy NOW!
The Juddernaut booked himself into the quarter-finals with a 13-10 win over fellow one-time world snooker champion Murphy.
Shaun Murphy was beaten by Judd Trump at the Crucible[/caption]
The Magician makes Trump favourite for the title[/caption]
It could have been a nervy finale as the Magician, 42, won four frames in a row – he scored 88, 72, 112 and 99 – to close the gap to 12-10.
But Trump, 35, showed his class with a match-winning 58 and underlined why he is the world No.1.
Murphy, the reigning Masters champion, gushed: “If he’s able to sustain that level of performance, he’ll win the tournament, without question.
“If I were allowed to bet on snooker matches, I’d have as much as I possibly could on Judd Trump.
“If he sustains that, you should give him the trophy now. As it stands, we should probably save ourselves the next seven days’ trouble and give it to Judd.
“No-one in the tournament is playing that well across all facets of the game. He’s showing why he’s world no.1. I think its his time for a second world title.
“He’s the strongest player on the tour. Other players get more headlines but he’s the best player.
“I’ve had to sit there and watch two-and-half sessions of Judd Trump magic. When I got my chance, I felt I shined but didn’t get enough of them.
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“Frankly, it’s the best I’ve ever played at the championship and lost. I cannot criticise myself too much. I came up against the best player on the planet.
“It’s frustrating that people seem to keep playing out of their boots against me.”
Trump, now based in the Middle East, has earned £100,000 for reaching 100 centuries for a single season on Sunday night but he has yet to decide on how he will splash the cash.
He is too good a player not to finish his career with only one world title and he is desperate to be known as a multiple world champion by the time he retires.
Stephen Hendry, the seven-time Crucible conqueror, feels Trump needs another world crown to be considered one of the greats.
The Scots legend, 56, said: “In my opinion, you’ve got to win here more than once.”
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‘I’M NOT BOTHERED’
Trump does not care what ex-players say about him in the TV booth, especially the ones who stopped playing a long time ago.
He said: “Shaun plays and commentates, too, and so he can understand the level. Some of the older commentators cannot see that anymore.
“I think I’m appreciated now amongst my peers. Some of the other people maybe aren’t with the game as they used to be.
“I’m not bothered what people say – I can put them on mute!
“Anyone who knows anything about the game can appreciate the level that I’m playing at. I’d be disappointed in myself if I never win the worlds again.
“Now it’s the business end of the tournament. You have to conserve energy. It will get tougher. We are not even halfway through yet.
“I wish it was easy – you can give me the trophy if you want! Every day is so different at the Crucible. I’m not getting carried away.”
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins