Judd Trump made history. The 35-year old from Bristol, currently number one in snooker’s ranking, defeated Barry Hawkins in a hard-fought match at the Barbican, in York, to claim his second UK championship title. The crown is the 30th title in Trump’s glorious career. Only Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Hendry and John Higgins won more than him, during their time. Trump, however, has time to do better than all of these legends if he keeps this pace in the future.
After winning the 2024 title, Judd Trump is still seen by bookmakers as the favourite to win the championship in 2025. He is followed soon after by O’Sullivan, who is always dangerous, Kyren Wilson and Mark Selby. These players are ready to snatch the title from the Brit currently number one in the world rankings as can be seen, for example, by visiting Bet365’s website, which is always ready to offer its odds in real time and beyond. The operator, well known and appreciated all around the world, guarantees advantageous incentives for online users, such as bonus codes that give the possibility to place bets without spending any real money. To get more information about this, you can read the review of the Bet365 bonus code, offered by Oddschecker to all customers who decide to try their luck in betting. The platform is very user-friendly and absolutely easy to use for everyone. Just check it out to see all its characteristics.
The epic match between Trump and Hawkins
Reading the previous paragraphs, one could very well think that Trump dominated the final leg against Hawkins, given his winning pedigree. In truth, it wasn’t that easy at all. He had to endure a stirring fightback. Hawkins always fought back and never surrendered, even if he was the clear underdog. At one point, Trump was leading 9-6, ready to triumph, when Hawkins gathered all his strength and drove a comeback to 9-8. That 18th frame was the pinnacle of their challenge, when Hawkins almost got the two snookers required to force a decider. Of course, almost here is the keyword: Trump showed his superior talent and finished the bout at that point.
Trump recognised Hawkins’ game
Interviewed by BBC Sport, Judd Trump admitted the game was more difficult than he thought. He said: “It was such a hard game. The way Barry battled today was really incredible. He made it so hard. He had a chance to go level and the game could have changed. I was not enjoying myself in the seat at 9-8. I just wanted it to be over with. Every shot I was snookered I was thinking ‘this could be the worst loss of all time’. Now it is just pure relief.”
After securing the 250.000 £ prize, Trump has now won the two most lucrative ranking events on the Tour this year. He also triumphed in the Saudi Arabia Masters and cemented his position atop the world ranking. Hawkins, now 45, never won a Triple Crown in his 28-years career but managed to secure the runner-up prize of 100.000 £. He should not be too disappointed since pushing Trump this close is already quite a feat. After all, he defeated Mark Allen only 12 hours prior to his final match and was probably quite fatigued.
What’s next for Judd Trump?
After dominating in 2024, Trump sets his eyes on 2025. He would certainly like to win again in York, next December, where he’s the clear favourite at the moment. In order to get there in shape, though, he’ll need to build momentum in previous tournaments. The schedule for snooker is full of masters and events where players can show their talent. We don’t know much of Trump’s schedule for the next few weeks. Some of his challengers, though, begin their activity during the winter holidays (Mark Selby will be at the Celtic Club in Pontypridd starting January, 2nd) or a few days later (Mark Allen will be at Victoria Snooker Centre in Tunbridge Wells on the 10th of January). Of course, these are just exhibitions to build some fanbase and monetise but, nonetheless, they count as serious training before the big clashes.