‘I didn’t really care,’ says Judd Trump in blunt interview after nearly being embarrassed by ‘very poor’ opponent
JUDD TRUMP has claimed he was not “bothered” about nearly losing to Liu Hongyu.
The snooker world No.1 came out on top in his first English Open match 4-3 in Brentwood.
Trump, 35, needed a deciding frame to claim victory despite leading 3-1 in the match.
He missed the chance to hit a 147 before losing two frames in a row to set up a nervous finale.
Hongyu is only ranked no.65 in the world and struggled at the start of the tie as Trump built up his lead.
After the match, Trump has insisted that he did not care whether he won or lost the snooker match.
He told Eurosport: “Sometimes when you’re out there… to be honest, I wasn’t that bothered to win or lose.
“Normally, I probably try and get the frame won there.
“I was in the kind of mood where I didn’t really care what was happening out there.
“Until it went back to 3-3, then obviously you’re trying your best not to lose and my standard kind of went up again.
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“The black was on (the) line and I was going from the 147 from the start, but ended up leaving it just a little bit short.”
Trump also claimed that he thought the match would be tougher against Hongyu but admitted that the Chinese ace was “very poor”.
He added: “I struggled. I expected a tough game from the start, and he wasn’t very good, to be honest, at the start; he was very poor.
“I kind of just lost my concentration a little bit and I think I tried to gee myself up going for that 147 and in the end, it didn’t happen.
“He raised the standards, and it probably helped me in the last frame.”
Trump will be hoping to defend his crown in the tournament having beat Zhang Anda 9-7 in last year’s final.
The rules of snooker
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
- Yellow – two points
- Green – three points
- Brown – four points
- Blue – five points
- Pink – six points
- Black – seven points
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.