Top Trump Claims Second UK Crown
Judd Trump became Victorian Plumbing UK Champion for the second time in his career after winning a fiercely contested clash with Barry Hawkins 10-8.
The incredibly steely Hawkins showed huge resolve to battle from 9-6 down to 9-8. He had a chance to force a decider in the 18th, but missed a red to the left middle. Trump then appeared to get himself over the line with a break of 67.
However, needing two snookers and having battled past Mark Allen 6-5 in the semis at 1am last night, the indefatigable Hawkins turned up the heat.
He left Trump in a number of perilous snookers and eventually extracted four foul points. Hawkins continued to push, but he couldn’t get the second snooker he needed. Trump cracked in a long-range brown to seal victory and punched the air in relief.
It’s the 30th ranking event title of his glittering career, only John Higgins, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan have won more. The 2019 World Champion has now captured Triple Crown silverware five times.
The £250,000 top prize pushes Trump over the £1 million barrier for the season, making him the first ever player to cross that tally in a single campaign before Christmas. He also picked up titles at the Shanghai Masters and the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
The Ace in the Pack first captured the UK title back in 2011, when he burst onto the Triple Crown scene with a 10-8 win over Mark Allen in the final as a 22-year-old.
Trump appeared in further finals in 2014 and 2020. However, he lost 10-9 to O’Sullivan and Neil Robertson respectively. Victory tonight makes 35-year-old Trump the tenth multiple winner of the UK Championship.
Hawkins is still searching his breakthrough triumph in one of snooker’s Triple Crown events, having been thwarted at the final hurdle by some of snooker’s greatest ever competitors.
The 45-year-old lost out to O’Sullivan in the 2013 World Championship final and the 2016 Masters title match. Hawkins was also runner-up to Neil Robertson at Alexandra Palace in 2022.
Hawkins’ performances this week earn him £100,000 and a return to the top 16 in the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings. His reward for that is another meeting with Trump in the first round of the Johnstone’s Paint Masters next month.
Trump and Hawkins came into this evening’s session with the former holding a 5-3 advantage. The Hawk continued to chip away at that two-frame cushion, but he was kept at arm’s length for most of the evening by Trump.
Breaks of 62 and 32 gave Trump the first frame of the night. Londoner Hawkins then took two on the bounce to make it 6-5, with Trump stringing together 67 in the 12th to lead 7-5 at the mid-session interval.
When play got back underway they traded frames as they jostled for position, but a crucial break of 133 moved Trump to the edge of the finishing line at 9-6.
Hawkins’ race looked to have been run, but he refused to wilt and crafted contributions of 75 and 82 to make it 9-8. Under the ultimate pressure, it was Trump who prevailed in the nerve shattering 18th to get over the line.
Trump said: “It was so close and it looked like it could go 9-9. I was under a lot of pressure and I knew I had to take that chance, because he was playing so well. I slowed myself down and made sure of every single pot. There was no flair at all in that break. I just had to find a way to get the balls in the hole. At two snookers, I felt pretty safe and all of a sudden he was back in it. To pot the brown was such a relief.”
Trump added: “It was an incredible game. Barry battled unbelievably considering the late night he had yesterday. I got a nice lead at 9-6 and he really turned it on to get back to 9-8. In the end, I probably just had that little bit of luck on my side to get over the line.
“If he was fatigued, he didn’t show it. He battled so hard. He came in fresh and was still battling back at the end. It was an incredible performance from him and hopefully he will be picking up one of these titles one day.
“This is such a hard tournament to win and my record hasn’t been amazing here. It has been a long time since I’ve been in the deep end here in York. I was struggling early on against Neil in the first round, managed to get through and then turned it on. I’m very proud and hold this trophy in very high esteem.”
Hawkins said: “It has been a great week. If someone had said I would get to the final beforehand, I would have taken it. Once I was here in the final I wanted to win. I thought it was a great game. I think I missed the boat tonight, I probably should have levelled. I managed to get it together towards the end and felt good.
“I’ve beat some great players this week, but I’ve lost to the best player in the world at the moment. He is world number one for a reason. He is just such a fantastic player and his all round game is phenomenal. It is no disgrace losing 10-8 to that man.”
