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Snooker International Championship

Judd Trump draws Ronnie O'Sullivan comparison from Jimmy White after super start to season - 'A winning machine'

ByAlex Livie

Published 03/11/2024 at 20:17 GMT

Judd Trump has been the player of the season at this early stage of the 2024/25 campaign, and has a huge lead at the top of the world rankings. Eurosport expert Jimmy White has been hugely impressed with Trump, who he feels has refined his game to turn himself into a winning machine. White also compared him favourably to seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

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Jimmy White has described Judd Trump as "a winning machine", comparing him to snooker great Ronnie O’Sullivan.

Trump has made a superb start to the 2024/25 season, winning the Saudi Arabia Masters and Shanghai Masters, and reaching the finals of the Xi’an Grand Prix and Northern Ireland Open.

The runaway world No. 1 heads to China as the favourite to triumph in the International Championship in Nanjing - and will kick off his quest against Sanderson Lam in the early hours of Monday, live on discovery+.

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Despite his loss to Kyren Wilson in the Northern Ireland Open final in Belfast last weekend, White has been hugely impressed with Trump in the current campaign.

While O’Sullivan has been absent in recent weeks due to medical reasons - he returned to action with a win over Mink Nutcharut in the first round of the International Championship on Sunday - the seven-time world champion is still the benchmark for the rest of the tour.

White feels Trump is reaching that level, in part due to his hunger for success and how he has refined his game.

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“When people look at Trump now, compared to where he used to be before, he is not an open player,” White said on Eurosport.

Reflecting on a shot Trump played in his win over Elliot Slessor in the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open, White said Trump played a cross-double with the aim of potting the ball but knowing it would be safe if it failed to drop.

“The cross-double he played, if it does not go in it is still safe,” White said. “If it goes in he is on the yellow and goes on to win the frame.

“He has found a route now of putting all his natural talent into being like a winning machine.

“He is a bit like O’Sullivan when O’Sullvian is firing. They find moves on the table and you look round and the balls are all over from nowhere. Trump is just doing that in abundance at the moment.

"He has been the most consistent this season because of how brilliant he is and because he wants to win every time he plays.”

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Watch and stream the International Championship live on Eurosport and discovery+

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