Resilient Judd Trump explains how the 'right mental state' helped him bounce back to end title wait

The world number one secured the 31st ranking event title of his illustrious career when he defeated Shaun Murphy 10-4 in Sunday night’s final to win the 2026 German Masters in front of 2,400 fans at the Tempodrom in Berlin.

Trump lifted The Brandon Parker Trophy and pocketed the winner’s purse of £100,000 in the capital. It is a record-extending fourth time that he has won the German Masters crown, with all of those triumphs coming since 2020.

Speaking to the World Snooker Tour straight after his glory, a delighted Trump was pleased with playing so well at a venue he dearly enjoys performing in: “It's incredible to win such a special event. It's one of the best arenas on tour. Every time I come here I'm very, very happy to be here and get the chance to play in front of that kind of crowd.

“Such special memories when you walk out there for the final. Today was no different, I played very, very solid.”

Taking the positives from final disappointments

Fourth on the all-time list for most ranking event wins in professional snooker history - only John Higgins (31), Stephen Hendry (36) and Ronnie O’Sullivan (41) have more - this was Trump’s first title of any description on the World Snooker Tour since claiming his second UK Championship crown in December 2024, fourteen months ago.

Despite not collecting a trophy throughout 2025 - the first calendar year since 2013 that he failed to do so - Trump featured at the business end of many tournaments. He was one frame away from winning the Players Championship, and he made the semi-finals of the Masters, World Grand Prix, and World Championship.

This season has also been a very consistent one for the 36-year-old, although he experienced disappointment in the finals of the Northern Ireland Open, Champion of Champions, and UK Championship in recent months. Only a couple of weeks ago, he was agonisingly close to reaching the Masters final at the Alexandra Palace but was denied by John Higgins in a deciding frame.

Whilst those moments would have been sore, Trump explained how he overcome them and took the positives from those deep runs: “It was just about being in the right kind of mental state to take the chance the next time. It was important not to get too down on myself and try and take the positives that I was putting myself in the position. It’s been a very good three or four months really.”

Confidence high for Trump at German Masters

An annual fixture on snooker's top flight since the tournament was revived in 2011, Trump is the most successful player in German Masters history with four crowns to his name; he has also been a runner-up.

Talking about building a legacy in the competition, the Bristolian described the belief he has playing in it: "I think when you come here and you're consistent like that and win the title, then the next year you come back or every other year you come back after that, I think you just have a different feeling. You're full of confidence.

"I think every time I'll probably come back here for the rest of my career I'm always going to be very, very confident. Yeah, there's some special memories.

There is next to no chance for Trump to relax and reflect on his title win in Berlin as he will travel to the Far East for the 2026 World Grand Prix that begins on Tuesday in Hong Kong. He was scheduled to play on the opening day, but his round one match against Yuan Sijun has been moved to the Wednesday evening session.