Trump Champion In Cheltenham
Judd Trump claimed his tenth ranking title with victory at the Coral World Grand Prix at Cheltenham Racecourse, defeating Ali Carter 10-6 in the final.
This evening’s win, which sees him pocket £100,000, undoubtedly elevates this season to Trump’s best ever on the World Snooker Tour. He has now amassed over £500,000 in prize money for the first time in a single term as well as picking up three major titles for the first time, having already won the Northern Ireland Open and last month’s Masters.
The Ace in the Pack looks certain to progress to the Coral Players Championship and the Coral Tour Championship, where the top 16 and top eight players respectively will qualify.
Carter fell just short of picking up a fifth ranking title this evening. However, his £40,000 runner-up prize virtually ensures his progress to the upcoming Players Championship, having started the week in 17th place on the one-year list.
Trump stamped his authority on the tie this afternoon, in an engrossing opening session which saw him build a 6-3 advantage.
However, it was the Captain who came flying out of the blocks tonight. A superb break of 99 saw him take the opening frame to make it 6-4. They then traded frames before a dramatic moment prior to the interval. Carter pulled the 13th frame from the fire, stealing it on the black to reduce his deficit to 7-6.
The mid-session break worked in favour of Trump, who pulled away again when they returned. The Masters champion fired in contributions of 71, 78 and 54 to secure a 10-6 win and the title. Trump now leads the race for the Coral Cup, which will be awarded to the player who amasses the most money across all three of this season’s Coral Series events.
Bristol’s 29-year-old Trump said: “I’m over the moon to win my third big title in one season. I’m very happy with how I played in the final. Ali pushed me all of the way. His safety play was as good as I have faced for a while so I had to be at my best today.
“I think just sheer hard work and practice is paying off. Having my brother with me on tour has been a massive help. Just being able to chat with him and he is making me practise more than I ever have done before consistently. You don’t want to let up when you are winning. You just want to keep it going and win as many tournaments as possible.”
A disappointed Carter reflected on a match which he feels could have gone the other way on a different occasion.
“It was tough. I gave it my all and just came up short. At 7-6 I felt that if I had my chances I would have taken them. It is fine margins. I’m disappointed right now because I really fancied winning today,” said four-time ranking event winner Carter. “Everyone had written me off. I wasn’t interested in that. I said that I don’t care if I am the only one in the building, I fancy winning this match. At 7-6 I definitely fancied winning.”
