Dec 03,2024
Judd Trump shrugged off comparisons with Ronnie O'Sullivan but left no doubt he is aiming to overhaul his rival's record of 41 world-ranking titles after clinching his second UK Championship crown in York on Sunday.
Trump stands fourth on the all-time list with 30 to his name and continues to rack up tournament wins at a staggering rate, having clinched a record six in the 2019/20 campaign alone.
But he remains a seemingly untouchable distance away from O'Sullivan's 23 'triple crown' titles, having landed his fifth with his gruelling 10-8 win over qualifier Barry Hawkins at the Barbican Centre.
Trump said: "I'm not comparing myself to Ronnie. I already set the record winning six events in a season and that's very special to me. I think the only thing bigger than that would be to win all three triple crowns in a season.
"In terms of how hard it is to win six events, I'd put that up there as extremely difficult because no-one else has done it.
"It's different for me. I'm in the hardest era of all time by a mile. I'm always going to be compared to Ronnie and others, but I think the time has changed. I think it's even harder now to win a triple crown."
Trump has often been criticised for coming up short in the sport's three biggest events, with his last UK triumph coming way back in 2011, and with a solitary world title still to his name.
But unlike many of his rivals, in particular O'Sullivan, who routinely skips the so-called lesser events on the calendar, the 35-year-old appears hungry to rack up more ranking titles of all shapes and sizes across the calendar.
"They all mean the same - it doesn't matter to me," said Trump, whose rise back to the top of the world this season has been facilitated by a win at the Saudi Arabia Masters as well as the non-ranking Shanghai Masters.
"It makes no difference. If I am up there at the end of my career with the all-time greats then brilliant, but I am just going to try and keep knocking out the ranking events and see where I can get to.
"It is still a long way to go from where I want to be in my career."
