Judd Trump admits to cue doubts and reveals theory for title wait after Champion of Champions group win

Trump has been an ever-present at the prestigious Champion of Champions invitational in its current guise; he has qualified and played in all 13 editions, only Mark Selby - when he enters the fray later this week on home soil - can boast the same 100% attendance record.

The 36-year-old was far from his best across both his matches on Monday but dropped just three frames as he kept on track to lift this trophy for the second time, and pocket the £150,000 top prize.

Second on in the afternoon session, Trump overcame the loss of the opening frame and a very sluggish start to defeat reigning world women's champion Bai Yulu 4-1 with breaks of 50, 84 and 71.

Bai nearly pinched frame five having required penalty points but missed the final black for a clearance and Trump later potted it to avoid the bother of at least another frame.

Waiting for Trump in the group final was Lei Peifan who caused an upset in eliminating a well-below-par Shaun Murphy 4-1 in the first match of the day.

On his debut, Scottish Open champion Lei registering runs of 72 and 61 in the process.

In a post-match interview on ITV4, a furious Murphy launched a scathing attack on tournament officials over the scheduling of his match having not long returned from China where he was playing in the International Championship last Thursday. Organisers Matchroom Multisport responded by stating that the draw is based on seedings and they take scheduling very seriously.

A few hours later, the winners from the afternoon shared the baize with Trump fashioning efforts of 60, 60 and 71 in a 6-2 victory. Lei had made the first century break of this year’s competition, a 101, when he levelled up in frame two.

Trump’s cue concerns and observation on big pockets

Trump qualified for this latest staging of the Champion of Champions after winning the UK Championship at the beginning of last December. That is the Englishman's last title on the World Snooker Tour, and for someone who has been so prolific in raising trophies over the past several years, that's equates to a lengthy wait.

'The Ace in the Pack' has been getting used to a new cue over the last couple of months, but whilst talking in the ITV4 studio after his group final win, Trump admitted to having thoughts of ditching it in the near future.

"I'm struggling a little bit with my cue, with the tip” said the 30-time ranking event winner.

"I'm hitting the ball where I want to hit it, it just doesn't go in at the moment. I think the tip’s very flat.

"The cue is still new, it's only two months old, and yeah, if I don't win something with it this week or next week, I think I'll probably change it.

“It will be a different one - I can't go back to the old one, I put it away for a reason!”

Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry was in the studio and asked Trump if he could put his finger on why he hasn’t won a title in over 11 months.

"I mean there's quite a few factors. I think my brother's not been able to come to Dubai because of visa problems for the last two months, so my practise is the least I've practised in about six years. It's very hard to practise with the same intensity” Trump responded with.

A recent topic of debate following a scoring spree at the International Championship, Trump believes the pockets are another reason.

“I think the main thing is the pockets are so big at the moment.

“I find it hard that the better player doesn't always win on the big pockets, and I think a lot of people say the standard is so good...but when the pockets are tight, and I felt they were in Ireland, [Northern Ireland Open] then I felt like people were missing. Now you're getting people that miss, and it still goes in, so it's quite frustrating.

“I think that's why you've seen so many different winners, because if someone's playing half decent, it's like 9-ball, you're not going to miss! It's quite frustrating”.

Trump is set to return later this week where he’ll play the winner of Tuesday’s group that consists of Zhao Xintong, Kyren Wilson, Mark Allen and Jack Lisowski.

Visit our tournament information centre here for details on the 2025 Champion of Champions including the draw, results, schedule and how to watch.