Ronnie O’Sullivan continues to be moved by the impact he has had on Judd Trump’s career, hailing the 34-year-old as ‘an all-time great’ of snooker already.

O’Sullivan’s new documentary ‘The Edge of Everything’ was released this week to a great reception, with the film coming to a climax with the 2022 World Championship final between the Rocket and Trump.

A memorable moment of that tournament was the epic hug between the two players after the match which seemed to last for an age on the Crucible floor.

The documentary revealed what the players said to each other during the mammoth embrace, with Trump thanking O’Sullivan for practicing with him years before and the influence he had on his young career.

Watching back that scene with the BBC, O’Sullivan became emotional again as he did at the time, clearly moved by the impact he had on the younger man.

‘That was a big match for me to play Judd,’ said O’Sullivan. ‘You know, he’s a phenomenal player. Me and Judd practised in the same facility and then Judd came down to London when he was about 18 or 19 [years old]. We used to practice in the same sort of place.

‘I think he kind of was watching and learning how I did my practice, what I practised. He even said it to me, he said when he decided to go back up to Bristol. I said “Why are you doing that?”

‘And he went “I learnt all I needed to learn off of you, the job was done. I knew there was nothing left for me to learn, so it’s time for me to go back to my family in Bristol”.

‘You know, that means a lot. I didn’t realise I had that impact on him.’

Trump has been the player of the season so far, lifting three trophies already and reaching two more finals as he looks to dislodge O’Sullivan from the world number one spot.

The Rocket would not be too upset to see the 2019 world champion do so, praising Trump’s snooker ethos and labelling him an all-time great even at this stage of his career.

‘I’ve always said I’d never begrudge Judd,’ O’Sullivan told reporters ahead of The Edge of Everything premiere. ‘He plays the game for the right reasons, he’s got a really good mentality toward the game.

‘I know him quite well, he’s quite quiet and shy, but he’s coming right out of his shell now. He’s matured a lot.

‘We’ve got great respect for each other, we really have. I’d say he’s an all-time great already and he’s still got years to go. A lot of respect for Judd.’

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After six days of qualifying for the UK Championship the draw for the opening round in York has been set and there are some blockbuster clashes in the last 32.

Only the top 16 qualify automatically for the Barbican and the star power outside of that elite group is illustrated by this draw, which sees Mark Allen take on Ding Junhui and Ronnie O’Sullivan face Anthony McGill in the first round of the main stage.

Allen and Ding contested last year’s final which the Northern Irishman won in 10-7 from 2-6 behind in a memorable showpiece clash.

O’Sullivan and McGill have played eight times in all competitions and the Scot has won just one of them, but it was a big one, knocking the Rocket out of the 2021 World Championship at the last 16 stage.

Other notable ties in the last 32 in York include Shaun Murphy taking on Hossein Vafaei and the player of the season so far Judd Trump facing young Chinese talent Pang Junxu.

There are a number of very recognisable names that didn’t make it through qualifying, including the likes of Stuart Bingham, Ryan Day, Gary Wilson, Stephen Maguire and David Gilbert.

Si Jiahui, this year’s surprise World Championship semi-finalist also fell early, as did Jak Jones, who enjoyed an unexpected run to the last eight at the Crucible a few months ago.

The last 16 ties are then played over Wednesday and Thursday, all the quarter-finals on Friday, both semis on Saturday before a two-session final on Sunday.

The winner will walk away with an enormous first prize of £250,000, while there is some pressure on the top 16 to win their first round matches for the ranking points that come with it.

The top 16 are guaranteed £10,000 in prize money for contesting the last 32, but they only get ranking points if they win their opening match, so any of the elite group falling at the first hurdle could face a tumble down the rankings ahead of the Masters in January.

UK Championship prize money

Winner: £250,000
Runner-up: £100,000
Semi-final: £50,000
Quarter-final: £25,000
Last 16: £15,000
Last 32: £10,000
Last 48: £7,500
Last 80: £5,000
Last 112: £2,500
Highest break: £15,000

After coming through his final qualifying game against Scott Donaldson on Thursday night, the always entertaining Hossein Vafaei had a rousing message for the crowd in York.

‘I love playing in the big events with a good atmosphere, as loud as possible,’ he said. ‘My advice to all the fans is to make it loud! Otherwise it’s tough for us to perform. Hopefully it will be a good match with Shaun, it will be an honour for me to share the table with him.’

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Ronnie O’Sullivan says it was only the presence of the film crew working on his documentary that got him over the line at the World Championship last year, and he doubts that he will lift the famous trophy again.

The Rocket won the sport’s biggest prize for a seventh time in 2022, beating Judd Trump in the final as he equalled Stephen Hendry’s record of Crucible titles.

He was closely followed by a film crew throughout the campaign, with the excellent documentary ‘Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything’ released this week on Prime Video.

O’Sullivan was extremely focussed and business-like as he progressed through the tournament and he says the presence of the cameras was behind his attitude as he didn’t want to let himself and the viewers down by chucking the towel in at any stage.

‘I knew I had to try and I knew I had to give 100 per cent because I knew I was going to have to watch it back and I didn’t want to defraud the public,’ said O’Sullivan.

‘Normally if I don’t feel like playing in a tournament and I don’t feel like it’s my week this week, I’ve earned the right to do that [not give 100 per cent].

‘But when you’re putting it on screen and you are asking people to take time out to watch this, and I’m going to have to watch it back, I wanted for it to be genuine and me to put my heart and soul into every ball and every pot for the whole year. It wasn’t just the World Championships, it was the whole year! My heart and soul into it.

‘It made me win that Championships, I don’t think I would have won it without having that sort of pressure on me to perform.

‘I don’t think I’d have got past the semis. I think [John] Higgins would have done me because that’s a tough game for me. I could have lost that match but I dug deep in that match.’

O’Sullivan’s defence of his title ended at the quarter-final stage this year when he was beaten by eventual champion Luca Brecel, but he will remain one of the favourites for more Crucible success next year when he is 48 years old.

Given how much the stress of the World Championship takes out of the Rocket, he doubts whether he will reach the summit again, but admits that he felt like that over a decade ago when he had won just three world titles.

On his chances of an eighth title, he said: ‘Probably not, to be honest with you. I’m sure I’ll pitch up and play again, whether I’ve got another one in me I don’t know.

‘I don’t think I have, to be honest with you, if I’m being brutally honest with you. I don’t think I’ve got another one in me. But I thought that in 2011 and I’ve won a few since then so it’s strange how things can turn out differently.’

The pressures and strains of a Crucible campaign are made very clear in The Edge of Everything, when O’Sullivan is really struggling mentally during the final against Judd Trump, questioning whether he can even return to the arena at times.

The iconic cueist says he was suffering stage fright during the match, which has only happened to him once before, during his first World Championship win over John Higgins in 2001.

‘I had a bad afternoon session on the Monday where I got stage fright and I’ve only ever had that twice at the Crucible,’ he explained. ‘The first time was the final session of the final against John Higgins and I thought, “what am I going through here?” I’d never had it in my life.

‘Then the only other time I had it was against Judd in the afternoon. I put it down to the first one being a really difficult one to win, because you’ve never won it before and want to get that monkey off your back. Then obviously the five in between that I was in my prime years, you go through it but you always seem to have the upper hand and I always felt in control of most of the matches.

‘Then this one I thought it might be my last one, so to have such a big lead and everyone around me thinking it’s in the bag…I knew it wasn’t in the bag, I know at the Crucible matches can turnaround.’

O’Sullivan explained that dressing room meltdowns are actually quite common at the Crucible, but only against Higgins and Trump has he felt he could not play properly because of the pressure.

The documentary shows Dr Steve Peters helping O’Sullivan through the tough moments, and the Rocket said it was not the first time that he has told the psychiatrist that he just can’t keep playing.

‘I’d done that before in 2012 when I was playing great in the final against Ali Carter,’ he explained. ‘I played great all tournament, but I was speaking to him [Peters] before the game, he went out the room and about 10 minutes later I was like, “Shit! I can’t go out there and play!”

‘It’s just the Crucible can do that to you sometimes, it really, really can.

‘So two times I’ve had stage fright when I’ve been out there playing. But normally I get it before the game, during the dressing room period, I’m on edge. But when I go out there and play it doesn’t affect my play, there’s only been two times where it has actually affected my ability to play snooker. It’s quite scary, you know.’

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David Beckham and Ronnie O’Sullivan working together on a new documentary may have seemed like a surprise for some, but the two sporting icons go a long way back.

Beckham’s Studio 99 produced the new film about the Rocket, Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything, which premiered on Tuesday night.

The Manchester United and England legend revealed at the premiere that he has long been a snooker fan and has known O’Sullivan for years, even saying that a night with the Rocket was one of his favourites during his time with the Red Devils.

Asked what his motivation for getting behind the new film was, Beckham said: ‘Simple answer is Ronnie.

‘Firstly, it’s a huge privilege to have been part of this. I was always a fan of Ronnie. I grew up in the East End of London and when I wasn’t playing football, I was playing snooker. I used to go up to the snooker hall in Chingford every other day when I wasn’t playing football. Then when my dad was playing football on the weekends, I’d end up playing snooker in the bar. That was something I grew up on.

‘I was able to spend a little time with Ronnie over the years. One of my favourite nights as a Manchester United player, we’d played in London and I think we went out for a couple of beers and I ended up back at Ronnie’s house. His mum was making a cup of tea for us and we had a few frames.

‘That was one of my favourite nights as a Manchester United player because I got to spend a few hours with Ronnie and get to know him.

‘To be able to make this film is very special because it’s not just about him as a snooker player. It’s about him and his life. He is a special person but to watch him play is just beautiful.’

O’Sullivan, 47, also told the tale of when he first met Beckham, 48, remembering the intense nature of the footballer’s fame when he burst into the public’s consciousness in 1996.

‘I stayed at David’s house a few nights in Manchester before he got super famous,’ said O’Sullivan. ‘I’ve met David a few times. Obviously he went his way and I went mine. He’s done really, really well.

‘We met each other in Charlie Chans and we were just chatting away. This was before he scored that goal [against Wimbledon], then he scored the goal and he went, “come up to Manchester.”

‘So I went up there and stayed with him for two or three days and the fame was off the scale. Him and Giggsy, it was scary. They were like the Beatles, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life and I’m not really cut out for that sort of thing, I run for the exit at things like that.

‘I spent a couple of days and then I was out of there. It was on another level. But it’s great that he’s backed the film.’

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Ronnie O’Sullivan intends to keep playing snooker for some years to come, but warns the powers that be that he has ‘no option’ but to quit if he can’t spend most of his playing time in China.

The sport has returned to China this season for the first time since the pandemic wiped Asian events off the calendar and the passion for snooker is clearly undimmed in the Far East.

Three ranking events and the non-ranking Shanghai Masters are back on the calendar, while players have been given a string of other opportunities to play in exhibitions and tournaments affiliated with the Chinese Billiards and Snooker Association (CBSA).

With these opportunities there has come clashes, with World Snooker Tour unhappy that players are playing exhibitions while professional events are taking place and threatening serious repercussions if any do choose to play elsewhere instead of in a main tour commpetition.

While O’Sullivan wasn’t involved in the specific situation, the quintet of Mark Selby, John Higgins, Luca Brecel, Ali Carter and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh became ‘The Macau Five’ as they hoped to play an exhibition in Macau during the Northern Ireland Open but were threatened with punishment if they did so.

The exhibition was eventually moved, but the players had already pulled out of the Belfast tournament so they missed out on playing in anything that week.

O’Sullivan, who pulled out of the Champion of Champions last week after a hectic schedule saw him playing in Tianjin, China just days before, says that if he is not able to compete when he wants in China then he is likely to give up the game all together.

‘I have no option now. If I can’t go out and do what I need to do – which is play a lot in China – then I won’t ever play again,’ O’Sullivan told the BBC. ‘We are at a sort of crossroads now.

‘There’s not enough here for me in the UK to justify the effort that I put in. When I go to China I play in great venues, great crowds, great prize money. And I love it.

‘If that gets to the point where I’m not able to do that then I probably won’t play. I’ll probably go and play Chinese 8 ball because I still want to play snooker. I still want a cue in my hand.’

The return of the Chinese events has been a huge boost for snooker in terms of global appeal, prize money and players having earning opportunities.

However, players are already complaining about the packed schedule which includes jetting from the UK to China and back regularly, while some feel restricted by their players’ contract which restricts when they can play exhibitions.

The glamorous, big-budget Chinese events can also shine some of the more modest UK tournaments in a poor light, although the three biggest events remain in Britain; the World Championship, Masters and UK Championship.

The Rocket says he and the other top players are not looked after enough in the current climate, saying: ‘I don’t get appreciated on the snooker circuit. None of the top players do in my opinion.

‘I’d love to be able to keep playing snooker for the next five, six, seven, eight years. But if I’m going to be forced into a situation where that isn’t possible then I’m not going to accept what the other 130 players do, which is play tournament after tournament.’

O’Sullivan’s aim does remain to continue playing and that is by far the most likely scenario for some years to come.

Asked at the premiere of his documentary The Edge of Everything on Tuesday how long he has left in the sport, he said: ‘I’ve got another five years. I could do 10 if I wanted, but I think five would just be enough.’

Ronnie O’Sullivan: Amol Rajan Interviews is on BBC Two at 7pm tonight (Wednesday) and will be available BBC iPlayer.

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Neil Robertson can’t wait to see Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything, putting the Rocket alongside the likes of Tiger Woods and Roger Federer in the pantheon of sporting greats.

The new documentary hits cinemas on Tuesday 21 November, with a release on Prime Video two days later and Robertson is fascinated to see how the film has turned out.

There has been no shortage of brilliant sporting documentaries over recent years and the Thunder from Down Under hopes this one lives up to them and will attract a big audience, benefiting snooker going forward.

‘Yeah I can’t wait. You know me, I love all my sports,’ Robertson told Metro.co.uk. ‘If you’re not even a fan of snooker you have to watch that.

‘I’ve seen little snippets of it and I hope it’s going to be what we’re hoping for. When I saw The Last Dance, I was a massive Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan fan in the 90s, and I was hoping it would be as good as it turned out to be. I hope the same for this one. I’m fascinated to see it.

‘I’m sure a lot of people will watch it and it gets a lot of people talking. It’s what we need.

‘There’s good players coming through but no one is Ronnie O’Sullivan, Ronnie is Ronnie. Tiger Woods is Tiger Woods. Federer is Federer. He’s in that bracket of sportsmen who are able to do what they do.’

Robertson has had plenty of experience against the Rocket over the years, with the pair first playing way back in 2005.

The Australian only recently discovered a ploy O’Sullivan used in their 2012 World Championship quarter-final by reading his recent autobiography, and he is hoping for similar insights from The Edge of Everything.

‘Ronnie’s latest book, I was flicking through it on the way to the Shanghai Masters, I picked it up in WH Smith’s before jumping on the flight,’ explained Robertson.

‘He talks about who he sees as the great players who can push him. He only named a few and I was one of them.

‘He mentioned our match in the 2012 World Championship, which people saw as the final, I was 5-3 up and he’s talking about pretending to look like he really fancied it, he wasn’t fazed and he was going to get on top and it was so funny that he didn’t feel great but he had to show that he did feel great.

‘The funny thing is, that was the effect that it had. He came out in the second session and I was really confused, I was like, “What the hell? He really fancies this!” But now I know he was putting on an act. It was fascinating hearing he didn’t fancy winning the match but had to pretend he did and it worked. 13-10.’

Robertson has a remarkable tale to tell of his own, becoming the most successful player from outside the British Isles, overcoming all the difficulties that comes with playing such a UK-centric sport.

He intends to tell that story at some stage and hopes it will be inspirational for anyone trying to take a similar path.

Asked whether his own career could be the subject of a documentary, Robertson said: ‘Yeah I think at some point, certainly it’s a different type of story. No one’s achieved what I have coming from the other side of the world.

‘Hopefully it would be an inspirational story if it was done right. I definitely plan on bringing out an autobiography later on, I think it would be good. I’m a big sports fan and fan of sporting biographies, so I think I know what would work.

‘It’s about telling a story to inspire other people, that’s the goal, that’s what you really want to do.’

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Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything is released this week and the subject of the film admits it was a hard watch for him.

The film will be shown in selected cinemas on Tuesday 21 November before a release on Prime Video two days later and it is a treat for fans of the Rocket, snooker and sport in general.

It was not necessarily a treat for O’Sullivan to watch back himself, though, with the documentary offering a really intense look at his life and the experience of competing under the pressure of the World Championship at the Crucible.

The documentary follows O’Sullivan’s campaign at the 2022 World Championship and at times, specifically in the final against Judd Trump, the level of pressure is enormous, with the Rocket admitting he was struggling badly to deal with it.

The 47-year-old says things were actually not as bad as they appear on film and seeing himself in that state was tough to watch.

In a video posted on Instagram, O’Sullivan said: ‘To give you a little insight, it’s quite sort of live, not staged, warts and all. I have watched it and I must admit it was quite weird to watch yourself in them moments.

‘I can honestly say it didn’t feel anywhere near as bad as it looked. It was a hard one for me to watch back. But don’t worry for me, I’m all good, I’m healthy, I feel great, I’ve loved every minute of my life. I do love the pressure, I enjoy it. I thrive in it. I just find it hard to contain it.

‘I’m getting better and I’m learning. It is a skill but I do deliver, evern under the most extreme pressure and you’re going to get to see that in his documentary. Live, not staged, warts and all.’

Clearly seeing himself suffering on screen has had an effect on O’Sullivan, also posting on X: ‘I look back and I think, “wow, how have I got through that?” It’s so important to look after your mental health!’

Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything is available exclusively in cinemas across UK & Ireland on November 21 and launches on Prime Video on November 23.

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Plenty of fascinating insights into the world of Ronnie O’Sullivan are revealed in his upcoming documentary, The Edge of Everything, including his blunt message to snooker pundits.

The film is due for cinema release on 21 November before coming to Prime Video two days later and it is sure to be a hit with fans of the Rocket, the game which has made him famous and many people who have yet to be enticed by the man or the sport.

O’Sullivan’s unique career, life and take on the world are all on show in the documentary, during which he delivers a thorough blast to those who have commented on him over the years.

The 47-year-old has a clear message to anyone that has shown any fickleness to him over his epic career, and it is not one that would make the pages of a children’s book.

‘There’s no end to it, there’s no end to it!’ O’Sullivan said of people judging him. ‘”Oh he’s falling, he’s slipping. Oh now he’s winning he’s great! He’s amazing! He’s the greatest player of all time!” Then I’m losing again and it’s, “Oh he’s slipping, are his days numbered?”

‘Oh god, I’ve heard that for 30 years. 30 years! They’re always going to find a problem.

‘I go, “You know what? F**k you! I don’t give a f**k!” That’s how I’ve got with it. Your damned if you do, damned if you don’t, but I don’t give a f**k no more.

‘I’ve taken control of my life and the most important thing is I’m happy.’

The Prime Video documentary comes at an interesting time for the Rocket, who pulled out of last week’s Champion of Champions, opting to work on his mental health after a busy time of playing and travelling between the UK and China.

O’Sullivan started the season in style by winning the Shanghai Masters and has been to the semi-finals of the International Championship and quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open, but a third round run at the English Open is the only result he has achieved on home soil.

He will hope to improve on that at the UK Championship in York, where he gets his campaign underway on Tuesday (28 November) afternoon against a qualifier.

The Rocket has won the UK Championship seven times, more than any other player, last claiming the title in 2018.

Last season’s campaign ended somewhat unceremoniously, though, after surging through two rounds to make the quarter-finals, O’Sullivan was abruptly stopped as he lost 6-0 to Ding Junhui.

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Snooker fans have waited a long time to see Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything and their patience has been rewarded because it is so much more than expected.

Cameras followed the Rocket closely in the build-up to the 2022 World Championship and throughout his campaign in Sheffield as he hunted down a record-equalling seventh title at the Crucible.

A behind-the-scenes, access-all-areas look at the GOAT preparing for the sport’s biggest event and then living through the iconic tournament was what appeared to be in the pipeline.

The Edge of Everything delivered what was promised on that front, but the film is a lot more than just documenting a snooker competition; it heads all the way back to the start of O’Sullivan’s epic career, unveiling the pain and torment he has dealt with and still struggles with at times now.

Many of the film’s most remarkable moments come from the relationship between O’Sullivan and his father, Ronnie Sr, with that thread running through the documentary to the brilliant climax.

The relationship between elite sportspeople and their fathers is often integral to their story. The recent David Beckham documentary made that clear, while the endlessly headline-grabbing involvement of John Fury in Tyson’s career continues to rumble on.

It is Beckham’s production company that is behind the O’Sullivan film, but this is very different to the enjoyable but relatively tepid PR exercise on the footballer. Equally, the father-son relationship is far from the same across the two pieces.

The Rocket’s relationship with his father is very different to most and The Edge of Everything does not shy away from the details of Ronnie Sr’s conviction for murder and how that left his young son as a huge fish in the snooker pond but struggling to keep swimming.

The man once known as the Essex Exocet says in one scene that he would be a ‘loser’ without the input of his dad and the push to make him the best player in the world from as young as nine years old has ultimately been successful.

There is no shortage of pain and torment, though, as illustrated in a tearjerking message from Ronnie’s mother Maria at one stage, remembering how she had to tell her son his father had been jailed.

Pain and torment are prevalent on the snooker side of things as well, with O’Sullivan living up to the title of the film by appearing very much on the edge during the World Championship final against Judd Trump.

What is going through a player’s head and what is being said behind dressing room doors have always been fascinations of snooker fans as the cueists sit silently in their chair before disappearing out of the arena. We are granted a look behind the curtain at both and it is intense.

As Trump fights back at O’Sullivan in the showpiece we are given a glimpse into what it is like when a snooker player says they are ‘gone’ and it looks like a bleak place to be.

O’Sullivan describes the World Championship as an ‘evil tournament’ earlier in the piece and it is hard to understand that phrasing at the time, but as we watch him start to unravel it begins to make sense.

Whenever the Rocket claims not to care about the sport, we can now clearly see that is untrue, but it also becomes very obvious why he tries not to hand over the fate of his feelings to snooker.

The intensity of the piece is increased by the brilliant addition of a microphone on O’Sullivan while he is playing, picking up every utterance while he’s in the arena, even to the point of his breathing.

The incredibly unique pressure of snooker is expertly shown in one scene of near silence as Ronnie tries to solve a puzzle at the table. Only his breathing and muttered frustrations can be heard as focus switches between his furrowed brow and a packed Crucible crowd.

We also get to listen to the emotional chat between O’Sullivan and Trump at the end of the final as they shared one of sport’s longest ever hugs and the Rocket’s emotions poured out.

This is very much a Ronnie O’Sullivan documentary, but anyone discovering snooker for the first time should leave with healthy respect for the mentally punishing game, so vividly represented.

If there is one thing lacking, and it is a minor gripe, but the fly-on-the-wall nature of much of the film means some things were brilliantly documented, but not questioned.

The memorably feisty interaction between O’Sullivan and referee Olivier Marteel during the final was shown in detail, but there was no further explanation from either man involved, leaving us to wonder exactly what sparked the row as confusion seemed to reign.

It is the tiniest complaint, though, of a film that does not lack insight into the man, his life and the game that has made him one of Britain’s most fascinating sportsmen.

The complexity and intensity of O’Sullivan and his sport will have you gripped throughout and if you like Ronnie Wood quoting Anton Chekov, well, it’s got that too.

Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything is available exclusively in cinemas across UK & Ireland on November 21 and launches on Prime Video on November 23.

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Mark Allen dedicated his stunning Champion of Champions success to his former coach and mentor Joe Shortt who sadly passed away over the summer.

The Pistol was in superb form over the week in Bolton, dropping just eight frames over the whole tournament and hammering Judd Trump 10-3 in the final to lift the trophy and claim the £150,000 top prize.

The Northern Irishman had a brilliant campaign last time around, winning three events, but had a slow start to this season, so this was a remarkable return to form.

The 37-year-old’s under-par results before the Champion of Champions were partly down to the loss of Shortt over the summer, which he says left him feeling lost as he used to turn to him for advice on and off the table.

Speaking on ITV after Sunday’s final, Allen said: ‘I’ve been a bit lost as I lost someone in the summer who’s been by my side since I was 12 year of age.

‘Joe Shortt’s not here with us anymore, he was a big part of my life, not just on the table but off it, and me and my dad have lost one of our closest friends. So that was for Joe.’

The Champion of Champions is Allen’s first title since the sad news, having posted about Shortt’s death in July, writing on social media at the time: ‘Just lost one of my biggest influences in not just my career but in my life. Joe Shortt was one of the kindest, caring and knowledgeable people you could ever wish to meet. Was with me every step of the way both on and off the table. I’m going to miss our chats. Love you.’

During his early-season struggles for form, Allen had spoken about feeling lost and working on ‘a few kinks’ in his technique, but he says he has now realised that there was nothing wrong with his game, he just had to go back to basics.

‘I spoke to two different coaches and I felt like it reminded me that I’m a good snooker player and I didn’t use anything that they told me!’ Allen said. ‘I’ve been going back to basics and try to enjoy it more.

‘I was trying to find perfection when you’re never really ever going to find it. Just trying to enjoy it more and I feel like I’ve done that this week.’

The result in the final was especially impressive as Trump has been the man of the season so far, playing in his fifth final of the campaign already, having won three titles in October alone.

Allen was bullish after the win, though, and believes he is more than capable of matching the Englishman’s achievements.

‘All credit to what Judd’s done this season but I feel like I’m as good as Judd,’ said the Pistol. ‘I feel like I’ve a cheek saying that considering I’ve won nothing compared to what Judd has, but I firmly believe that’s where I should be.

‘I want to get amongst it, show him I mean business and that I’m capable of turning him over, especially when he’s been by far and away the best player in the world.’

Trump was disappointed he couldn’t find his best stuff consistently in the final, only looking good in patches and not producing his peak safety game.

However, it has been another good week for him among an array of good weeks and he will refocus ahead of the UK Championship starting this weekend.

‘Disappointing day at the office but he played really well,’ Trump said. ‘I struggled through the first few rounds and Mark was the best player of the whole tournament and normally the best player wins, that’s what happened.

‘It’s been an amazing start to the season. Obviously it’s tough after a heavy defeat but it’s been a dream start.’

Allen begins the defence of his UK Championship title on Saturday 25 November, with Trump in action on Monday 27 November.

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UK Championship qualifying got underway on Saturday morning and there were notable wins for the likes of former women’s world champion Mink Nutcharut and teenage star Stan Moody on the opening day.

Mink picked up a 6-3 win over Adam Duffy, her first victory of the season and a great time to land it in one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar over a best of 11.

The 24-year-old from Thailand knocked in the biggest break of the match (60) and made the most of a poor performance from the Englishman to book a spot in the second round of qualifying against Michael White.

There were also wins for a number of young talents who will be dreaming of appearing at the Barbican for the first time this year as qualifying continues till Thursday.

Moody continues his impressive start to his first season as a professional with a 6-3 victory over Latvia’s Filips Kalnins, with a break of 103 in the final frame.

The 17-year-old will have a sterner test next time out against the vastly experienced Dominic Dale, but the teenager is full of confidence after his run to the last 16 of the Northern Ireland Open last month, beating the likes of Gary Wilson and Zhou Yuelong along the way.

Another 17-year-old Englishman Oliver Sykes got a big win as well, with the amateur knocking off experienced pro Alfie Burden 6-1.

Robbie McGuigan picked up a big win over veteran Fergal O’Brien, with the 19-year-old downing the Irishman 6-2 with a break of 102 along the way.

The Northern Irish prospect has not yet turned professional, but it appears only a matter of time after also claiming a win over Pakistani pro Muhammad Asif at the Northern Ireland Open.

Chinese teenager Xing Zihao downed Jimmy White 6-2, ending the Whirlwind’s hopes of making a return to the Barbican after his memorable run last year.

The standout tie of the first round of qualifying was a clash between former ranking event winners Marco Fu and Michael Holt which did not disappoint.

Fu edged the Hitman 6-5 despite two centuries, a 91 and a 70 from the Englishman in a very decent performance indeed.

Qualifying continues until Thursday, with the main event getting underway in York on 25 November.

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Judd Trump expects Ronnie O’Sullivan’s new documentary to be a big boost for snooker, while he also expects to have a significant role in the film given the epic hug the pair shared after the World Championship final last year.

Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything follows the Rocket in the build-up to his 2022 Crucible campaign and all the way to its climax, which saw him lifting the World Championship trophy for a seventh time.

It was Trump who played O’Sullivan in the final in Sheffield, losing 18-13 to the Essex icon, and was on the receiving end of a warm embrace from his opponent after the final ball was potted.

The Ace is yet to see the documentary, out on Amazon Prime on 23 November, but is expecting a starring role and believes the production will be very good news for his sport.

‘Yeah I’ll be in it a fair bit with the hug!’ Trump told Metro.co.uk. ‘I’ll be getting a lot of screen time!

‘I’m sure I will watch it, it’ll be quite an interesting story and it’s good for snooker to have something so mainstream.

‘It can only benefit everyone else involved in snooker. Ronnie’s got a one-off personality and you need that to make the headlines at times. I’m a bit more understated, but you need those kind of characters to promote the game as well.’

Trump says the filming was not on his mind during his run to the final and then his epic clash with the Rocket in the showpiece, but believes it must have been hard to ignore for O’Sullivan.

‘At the time I wasn’t thinking about it, I forgot about it really,’ he said. ‘But there would definitely have been times in the tournament that he [Ronnie] knew the cameras and microphones were on and he would have played up to it a bit.’

The lengthy hug between the Ace and the Rocket was a memorable moment of the entire World Championship, with both giving an insight into what was said afterwards.

O’Sullivan told the BBC after the final last year: ‘As far as I’m concerned, this fella is already an all time great. The way he plays the game, plays such dynamic snooker.’

He added on Eurosport: ‘I gave him a big hug and was sobbing in his arms.

‘He said some such lovely words. What he said to me blew me away. I love Judd. He’s a great lad and I didn’t realise what he thought of me till then.

‘Different respect there, I didn’t realise how he sees me and be part of his development. He’s great for snooker. What he said, Judd. It just done me in.’

Judd revealed to reporters: ‘He was just being nice to me. It was nice to share that with him.

‘Obviously I’d have liked to have come out on the other side, but it’s an amazing achievement for him.

‘At the end of my career, if Ronnie says I’m one of the best players, I’m happy with that. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says, if he says some good stuff about me like he did tonight, there’s no person that knows the game better than him.’

Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything premieres on Tuesday 21 November in selected cinemas before being released on Prime Video on Thursday 23 November.

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The UK Championship is one of the great tournaments in the history of snooker and it gets underway this weekend with the qualifying stages in Leicester.

The top 16 players in the world head straight to the main stages at The Barbican in York, which are held from 25 November-3 December.

Before then, 16 players must emerge from the tiered qualifying system, with the lowest-ranked players facing the prospect of needing to win four matches to get to York, while the ones closer to the top 16 must only win two games.

There are some big names having to head to qualifying after falling out of the top 16, including Ding Junhui, Stephen Maguire, Anthony McGill and Hossein Vafaei.

Mark Allen is the defending champion after he downed Ding in last year’s final to claim the huge £250,000 top prize.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is due to compete as he looks to extend his record of most UK Championship titles, lifting the trophy seven times, ahead of Steve Davis on six and Stephen Hendry with five.

All matches this year will be best-of-11 frames apart from the final which is played over a best-of-19.

UK Championship qualifying draw and schedule

Saturday 18 November

Round One

09.30
Daniel Wells vs Mostafa Dorgham
Jenson Kendrick vs Oliver Briffett-Payne
Adam Duffy vs Mink Nutcharut
Stuart Carrington vs M Phetmalaikul
Mohamed Ibrahim vs Victor Sarkis
Marco Fu vs Michael Holt
Anton Kazakov vs Ryan Davies
Xing Zihao vs Jimmy White

14.30
Ross Muir vs Andrew Pagett
Stan Moody vs Filips Kalnins
Peng Yisong vs Umut Dikme
Alfie Burden vs Oliver Sykes
Ma Hailong vs Sydney Wilson
Fergal O’Brien vs Robbie McGuigan
Jiang Jun vs Rebecca Kenna
Allan Taylor vs Liam Davies

19.30
Rod Lawler vs Liam Graham
Ryan Thomerson vs Reanne Evans
Long Zehuang vs Haydon Pinhey
Oliver Brown vs Dean Young
Andrew Higginson vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Muhammad Asif vs Duane Jones
Sean O’Sullivan vs Baipat Siripaporn
Louis Heathcote vs Ahmed Aly Elsayed

Sunday 19 November

09.30
Andy Lee vs Joel Connolly
Liam Pullen vs Iulian Boiko
Hammad Miah vs Bulcsu Revesz
Ian Burns vs Amaan Iqbal
Ishpreet Singh Chadha vs Gao Yang
Andres Petrov vs Craig Steadman
Rory Thor vs Riley Powell
Martin O’Donnell vs Jack Borwick

Round Two

14.30
Ashley Carty vs Wells/Dorgham
Robbie Williams vs Kendrick/Briffett-Payne
Michael White vs Duffy/Mink
Martin Gould vs Carrington/Phetmalaikul
Andy Hicks vs Ibrahim/Sarkis
Ben Mertens vs Fu/Holt
David Grace vs Kazakov/R Davies
James Cahill vs Xing/J White

19.30
Hq Guoqiang vs Muir/Pagett
Dominic Dale vs Moody/Kalnins
Julien Leclercq vs Peng/Dikme
Jamie Clarke vs Burden/Sykes
Xu Si vs Ma/S Wilson
Dylan Emery vs O’Brien/McGuigan
Jackson Page vs Jiang/Kenna
Zak Surety vs Taylor/L Davies

Monday 20 November

09.30
Lukas Kleckers vs Lawler/Graham
Ben Woollaston vs Thomerson/Evans
Sanderson Lam vs Lee/Connolly
Mark Joyce vs Pullen/Boiko
Oliver Lines vs Long/Pinhey
Ashley Hugill vs O Brown/Young
Tian Pengfei vs Higginson/Ursenbacher
Liu Hongyu vs O’Donnell/Borwick

14.30
Ken Doherty vs Asif/D Jones
David Lilley vs S O’Sullivan/Baipat
Elliot Slessor vs Heathcote/Elsayed
John Astley vs Miah/Revesz
Liam Highfield vs Burns/Iqbal
Mark Davis vs Chadha/Gao
Aaron Hill vs Petrov/Steadman
Scott Donaldson vs Thor/Powell

Round Three

19.30
Ding Junhui vs Carty/Wells/Dorgham
Matthew Stevens vs R Williams/Kendrick/Briffett-Payne
Si Jiahui vs M White/Duffy/Mink
Fan Zhengyi vs Gould/Carrington/Phetmalaikul
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Hicks/Ibrahim/Sarkis
Ricky Walden vs Mertens/Fu/Holt
Wu Yize vs Grace/Kazakov/R Davies
Noppon Saengkham vs Cahill/Xing/J White

Tuesday 21 November

09.30
Anthony McGill vs He/Muir/Pagett
Anthony Hamilton vs Dale/Moody/Kalnins
David Gilbert vs Leclercq/Peng/Dikme
Jordan Brown vs Clarke/Burden/Sykes
Lyu Haotian vs Xu/Ma/S Wilson
Matt Selt vs Emery/O’Brien/McGuigan
Jamie Jones vs Page/Jiang/Kenna
Gary Wilson vs Surety/Taylor/L Davies

14.30
Ryan Day vs Kleckers/Lawler/Graham
Cao Yupeng vs Woollaston/Thomerson/Evans
Joe Perry vs Lam/Lee/Connolly
Xiao Guodong vs Joyce/Pullen/Boiko
Joe O’Connor vs Lines/Long/Pinhey
Stephen Maguire vs Hugill/O Brown/Young
Yuan Sijun vs Tian/Higginson/Ursenbacher
Chris Wakelin vs Doherty/Asif/D Jones

19.30
Stuart Bingham vs Lilley/S O’Sullivan/Baipat
Graeme Dott vs Slessor/Heathcote/Elsayed
Zhou Yuelong vs Astley/Miah/Revesz
Jak Jones vs Highfield/Burns/Iqbal
Pang Junxu vs Davis/Chadha/Gao
Jimmy Robertson vs Hill/Petrov/Steadman
Sam Craigie vs Donaldson/Thor/Powell
Hossein Vafaei vs Liu/O’Donnell/Borwick

Judgement Days

Wednesday 22 November

1pm

Ding/Carty/Wells/Dorgham vs Stevens/R Williams/Kendrick/Briffett-Payne
Si/M White/Duffy/Mink vs Fan/Gould/Carrington/Phetmalaikul
Thepchaiya/Hicks/Ibrahim/Sarkis vs Walden/Mertens/Fu/Holt
Wu Yize/Grace/Kazakov/R Davies vs Noppon/Cahill/Xing/J White

7pm
McGill/He/Muir/Pagett vs Hamilton/Dale/Moody/Kalnins
Gilbert/Leclercq/Peng/Dikme vs Brown/Clarke/Burden/Sykes
Lyu/Xu/Ma/S Wilson vs Selt/Emery/O’Brien/McGuigan
J Jones/Page/Jiang/Kenna vs G Wilson/Surety/Taylor/L Davies

Thursday 23 November

1pm
Day/Kleckers/Lawler/Graham vs Cao/Woollaston/Thomerson/Evans
Perry/Lam/Lee/Connolly vs Xiao/Joyce/Pullen/Boiko
O’Connor/Lines/Long/Pinhey vs Maguire/Hugill/O Brown/Young
Yuan/Tian/Higginson/Ursenbacher vs Wakelin/Doherty/Asif/D Jones

7pm
Bingham/Lilley/S O’Sullivan/Baipat vs Dott/Slessor/Heathcote/Elsayed
Zhou/Astley/Miah/Revesz vs J Jones/Highfield/Burns/Iqbal
Pang/Davis/Chadha/Gao vs J Robertson/Hill/Petrov/Steadman
Craigie/Donaldson/Thor/Powell vs Vafaei/Liu/O’Donnell/Borwick

UK Championship prize money

Winner: £250,000
Runner-up: £100,000
Semi-final: £50,000
Quarter-final: £25,000
Last 16: £15,000
Last 32: £10,000
Last 48: £7,500
Last 80: £5,000
Last 112: £2,500
Highest break: £15,000

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Judd Trump played ‘arguably the greatest positional shot ever’ at the Champion of Champions on Thursday night, as snooker pundits salivated over the incredible effort.

The world number two was level at 3-3 with Shaun Murphy in Bolton, but 55-1 behind in the seventh frame when he came to the table.

From there he produced what fellow professional Alfie Burden called on social media the ‘best clearance ever witnessed bar none.’

That included a pot on the yellow which was straight forward enough, but Trump managed to swing the white around two cushions and through a tiny gap to nudge the final red off the cushion and over the middle pocket.

He went on to clear the table and would eventually win the match 6-4, but it was that shot that was still being talked about afterwards.

On commentary for ITV4, Alan McManus said: ‘Wow, wow! Unbelievable shot! There’s a hot shots competition, we know we love it, that should be in it twice. My goodness me. This is other worldly!

‘It’s through a gap that’s not there. Got to miss the brown by a hair, got to miss the blue by a hair. Wow. This wasn’t a snooker shot, this was an occasion, that’s how good that was.’

It was commentator Phil Yates who declared: ‘That is arguably the greatest positional shot ever.’

Trump said himself after winning the match: ‘I didn’t want to leave the table, it was one of them shots where when I’ve won tournaments it goes in.

‘I knew I hit it well, I was just hoping it would avoid the brown, It’s one of them shots that comes off once in a lifetime. Even if the brown wasn’t there it’s a great shot it’s just made it look a bit more special to avoid that.’

Former world champion Ken Doherty added: ‘Those clearances and shots like that come around once in a blue moon and you just have to savour them.’

Snooker fans will all have their favourite shots and Trump’s may join the likes of Alex Higgins’ blue in the 1982 World Championship…

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s left-handed final red as he made a 147 in the final frame to win the 2014 Welsh Open…

Mark Selby’s treble on this red to keep his 147 hopes alive in the British Open last year, which he went on to make…

Trump will hope to continue his fine form when he meets Barry Hawkins in the semi-final of the Champion of Champions on Friday night, although despite his miraculous shot against Murphy, he thought he underperformed in the game.

‘I felt like I played terrible. So to see the stats…I don’t know what happened there,’ he said.

‘When you’re out there you don’t really know what’s going on. It’s one of the worst I’ve felt all season, I felt tight, I felt horrible, I didn’t feel like my cue action was there.’

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Mark Allen is still pushing for change in snooker and wants to sit down with decision-makers to come to an amicable solution over some issues in the sport.

The Pistol has been at odds with World Snooker Tour this season, claiming that the game is in ‘disarray’ suggesting that players boycott events to force change.

However, he went on to withdraw those comments and apologise, posting on social media: ‘In a recent media interview with the Irish Mirror, I made comments about players not playing in WST events, as well as other comments about World Snooker which were damaging and I unreservedly withdraw them.

‘I regret and sincerely apologise for making these comments, and look forward to working with World Snooker in the future to ensure our great sport, and the players that make it, reaches its full potential and delivers for fans around the world.’

The world number four has taken issue with scheduling of the WST calendar and the controversy surrounding The Macau Five as a quintet of players were barred from playing in an exhibition in China during the Northern Ireland Open.

Allen might not railing against the powers that be anymore, but he still wants changes made and wants to work with WST to achieve them, warning the bosses that players need to be onside for the game to not just thrive, but survive.

‘I think the players ultimately hold the power. Without the top players, the game doesn’t survive, so I think changes are needed,’ Allen said, via the BBC.

‘I think the sport is a long way away from being what it can be. I’m happy to sit down with the people that make those decisions in a quiet room and discuss it.

‘Hopefully we can sit down and amicably come to a good settlement.’

On the table, Allen is looking to regain the fine form of last season when he won three ranking titles and reached the semi-finals of the World Championship.

It has been a relatively average start to the current season, but he is into the Champion of Champions semi-finals this week, preparing to take on John Higgins on Saturday.

He has big goals this campaign, the biggest in the game, and hopes to finish the season in the ultimate style.

‘I want to be world number one. I want to be world champion. It hasn’t been the best start to the season but there is a long way to go, a lot of tournaments to go,’ he said.

‘I still believe I can finish [the season as world number one]. If I win the world championship, that takes care of both.

‘They are the ultimate goals. When I first lifted a cue at 12 years of age, that’s what I wanted to be – world number one and world champion.’

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Top players now have the chance to win a huge £147,000 bonus this season, but they will have to make two maximum breaks across snooker’s three biggest events to get their hands on the cash.

As 147 breaks have become more regular in recent years specific bonuses for the maximum break have largely disappeared, with just a high break prize at most events.

However, a 147 bonus of sorts has returned, with £147,000 on the line if anyone can make two maximums across the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship his season.

That is a big ask, but not entirely out of the question as it has been done before by – you guessed it – Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The Rocket knocked in a maximum in the 2007 UK Championship against Mark Selby and then four months later made a 147 against Mark Williams at the World Championship.

O’Sullivan may have proved that it is possible, but it is not very likely and anyone who does land the bonus will very much deserve it.

The Masters has proved especially tough to make maximum breaks in, with just three in the history of the event, which is probably not that surprising as there are just 15 matches in the tournament each year.

World Snooker Tour Chairman Steve Dawson said: ‘There is nothing quite as exhilarating in snooker as a maximum break, those moments bring us to the edge of our seats. And we’re making that achievement all the more special this season during our Triple Crown events.

‘We’d love to see at least one player make a 147 at the MrQ UK Championship which would give them two more tournaments to chase the bonus. Last season we saw maximums from Kyren Wilson and Mark Selby at the Crucible – imagine the thrill if there was an extra £147,000 on the line!

‘The skill level in snooker now is higher than ever and we expect this new prize will give the players extra motivation to go for maximum breaks.’

WST add: ‘Up to three players could win this bonus, for example if three different players each made two 147s then they would each win £147,000. Or if one player made six maximums then he would bank £441,000.’

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John Higgins has payback on his mind ahead of his Champion of Champions semi-final with Mark Allen on Saturday.

The Wizard of Wishaw was in immense form as he beat Ding Junhui 6-1 on Wednesday night, knocking in six breaks of over 80, while the Chinese superstar knocked in a century in the one frame he won.

That victory sets up a clash with Allen in the semis after the Pistol won his group on Monday by beating Jimmy White and Ali Carter.

It will be the first meeting between the two since the 2021 Northern Ireland Open final which was something of a classic in the Belfast event.

Higgins appeared to be on the verge of victory when he took an 8-6 lead with a superb break of 136, but the home favourite kept swinging and won the last three frames to clam a famous 9-8 victory.

It was a painful loss for Higgins and he is excited about the prospect of taking on Allen again, in their first clash for over two years.

‘We always have great matches, me and Mark. We’ve not played a lot as professionals,’ said Higgins. ‘But every time we’ve played, we always seem to have really high-quality games.

‘The last time we played, he managed to pip me in the Northern Ireland Open final 9-8, so I suppose I maybe owe him one back, but I can’t wait to play him. I can’t wait.’

Higgins has had a mixed season so far, with this being his third run to a semi-final but if he keeps up the form he showed against Ding then he will be very hard to stop.

‘I’m delighted with that. I can’t play any better than that really,’ he said of his performance on Wednesday night. ‘Obviousuly I’ve done six 80-odd breaks, it was good. I really enjoyed playing out there.

‘Sometimes you’re out there in front of a big crowd, and you can maybe get into your shell a little bit. But I felt good out there tonight, so that was great.

‘It’s a brilliant venue here, it really is. I’ve always enjoyed playing here – it’s great for the spectators and good for your friends as well, with the balcony is overlooking things.

‘I loved it out there tonight, and now I can’t wait to come back out on Saturday.

‘I knew I was going to have my work cut out, because Ding had a great result against Anda Zhang, but I’m delighted.’

The final group s played on Thursday, with Judd Trump taking on Baipat Siripaporn and Shaun Murphy meeting Gary Wilson and the winners playing for the final semi-final place against Barry Hawkins.

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Judd Trump is loving having ultimate belief and confidence back in his game, but feels he got too much of a hard time for his ‘bad spell’ which was an awful long way from disastrous.

The 34-year-old is the man of the season so far, winning three tournaments on the spin in October as he lifted the trophies at the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open.

The English was his first ranking title since March 2022, so to reel off two more immediately afterwards was some achievement, as he became just the fifth player ever to win three on the spin.

His ranking title tally is up to 26 now, so he’s done near enough everything in the game, but this goes down as one of his greatest achievements.

‘It’s got to be up there with one of the best things I’ve done in my career,’ Trump told Metro.co.uk. ‘I’ve always had a really good record of winning an event and then playing really well again the second week. When I find form I’m generally someone who can carry it on for a little bit. I think people in snooker know that after I’ve won a tournament I’m at my most dangerous. I’m definitely a confidence player.

‘The one in China I kind of breezed through the tournament so it was a little bit different, it was never in danger, but the third tournament, Noppon [Saengkham] was the real hard one and I had to come back in a couple. To win three in a row, when it hadn’t been done for so long and so many of the greats haven’t done it makes it a little bit more special.’

This level of success is nothing new for Trump as he set the record of six ranking titles in a season in 2019/20, and that number is in his sights again as he feels ‘very, very similar’ to how he felt four years ago.

‘The belief is definitely back,’ he said. ‘I feel that every time I get left in I’m going to clear up. Even just looking at the table from the chair, I feel like I’ll clear up every time. You start oozing confidence, your opponent can tell that and they seem to make more mistakes, missing that crucial ball to get over the line and 9 times out of 10 I’ll step in and clear up. Especially in deciders, I feel like I can do it every time.

‘I’ve not really had that feeling for a while. I’ve had it in certain tournaments where I feel it’s coming back, but this is a sustained period.’

Trump really hit the heights from the back end of 2018 to early 2021, during which time he picked up an incredible 14 rankings titles, including the World Championship and a Masters title on top.

After that immense success there was always going to be a dip and both the 2021/22 and 22/23 seasons were quieter, but they were not without highlights.

A Crucible final, another Masters title, a triumph in Turkey and at the Champion of Champions all came along and Trump thinks the talk of his demise was greatly exaggerated.

‘I did lose some of the belief,’ he said. ‘I felt at times I got back to somewhere near my best, but before I was so consistent for the whole season it was a bit ridiculous really.

‘I did that for two or three years, with very few bad performances, it’s a level that’s very hard to replicate. But then it wasn’t really a bad season last time. My bad, compared to even Ronnie’s bad, is not that bad. Ronnie hasn’t won a ranking event since the 2022 World Championship. I still won the Masters, the Grand Prix final, Champion of Champions final last season. Compare that to what Neil [Robertson] is doing now, my game even in the “bad bit” was in a different league. How bad really was I? I don’t think it was that bad.

‘I don’t know why it was made out I was struggling. I did feel like people could have given me a break because I just wasn’t playing that bad. Making finals, making 147s. It’s a bit exaggerated. I still get it now. Even if I win a tournament it’s just like, “well he’ll never be as good as Ronnie.” It’s all anyone can come up with nowadays.

‘In terms of major titles, it’s always compared to people miles older than me. I think it’s always a bit skewed if I’m compared to people 7 or 14 years older than me.

‘I’ve been in the Masters final twice and the World final twice in the last five years. UK final I probably should have won against Neil [in 2020], the other one I lost 10-9 against Ronnie [in 2014]. So I’ve won four majors, but I’m not a mile off from winning 6 or 7 already.

‘I definitely feel that people don’t get credit for finals. It’s so easily forgotten. Even the people I’ve played in my finals I think are more difficult than most people have faced. Ronnie and [John] Higgins in World finals, Ronnie and Neil both 10-9 in UK finals, Ronnie and [Mark] Williams I’ve beat in Masters finals, Higgins in the Worlds so it’s not like I’ve had it easy.’

Trump surged to his only world title win so far in 2019, something Luca Brecel did this year in similarly blistering style at the Crucible.

While the Ace has been in sparkling form since May, the Belgian Bullet has struggled to find his best stuff and Trump had some advice for the world champ who famously said he scrapped practice on his way to the biggest prize in the sport.

‘I think he’s done probably the opposite to what I do,’ said Judd of Luca. ‘I wanted to get back and practice straight away and prove that it wasn’t a fluke. I know no World Championship win is a fluke but I felt I had a lot more to prove then. He seems to have done the opposite and think that he’s proved everything when he hasn’t really, for me.

‘He’s obviously got the talent but I think he’s proving to himself that you might get away with not practicing once, but you’re not going to get away with it every single time. It’s very easy to lose your form in this game and very hard to regain it. He needs to knuckle down, put the work in and try and get back to where he was.’

Trump’s recent success has come in a remarkably short space of time with the packed schedule meaning his three titles all came within a month as he jetted from Brentwood to Wuhan to Belfast.

Plenty of players complained about the back-to-back nature of the events thousands of miles apart, but while Trump fully agrees with those sentiments he says he has learned not tobother complaining about it.

‘Obviously it’s not ideal with what has happened, having to go from one tournament to another immediately,’ he said. ‘But I always think that you can moan but nobody cares, nobody actually cares. You can moan as much as you want but if you lose, nobody cares about you, so you’re just moaning to yourself.

‘I do want things changed and I hope that just because I’ve won back-to-back events doesn’t justify that it’s acceptable. I think there should always be a gap of at least a couple of days in between tournaments when you’re flying round the world.

‘Having that many tournaments is beneficial, everyone wants more tournaments but everyone wants a fair crack in every tournament. You shouldn’t have a better chance in one by losing early in the previous one.

‘I think it’s something that needs to be adjusted over the next season or two and I hope they don’t stick tournaments on back-to-back again as if they’re doing us a favour. I kind of feel that’s how they look at it, like they’re doing us a favour by putting tournaments on back-to-back. But I think the standard would be a lot better if players had a day or two off to recover and go again.’

Trump goes again on Thursday as he starts his Champion of Champions campaign against women’s world champion Baipat Siripaporn with the potential of meeting Shaun Murphy in the group final later that evening if the Magician beats Gary Wilson.

Murphy has been embarking on an experiment this season, with three cues now in his arsenal, which he believes will help him perform better in different conditions as he switches between them.

The experiment has not borne too much fruit yet and Trump is not sure it will last much longer.

‘It’s not gone to plan for him so far,’ said Trump. ‘There’s a reason why no one else has ever done it. You’ve tried a load of cues out and found the one you like the most, there is no real second or third place. You’ve got the best cue. I don’t think it’s going to last long. He wanted to try it out and I think he’ll quickly realise it doesn’t work and away it goes.

‘I don’t really know if he’s doing it for the right or wrong reasons. Does he genuinely believe you need a second or third cue or is he doing it trying to grab headlines and that kind of thing? I’d be very surprised if any other top player agreed with him and his reasoning behind it. It’s so hard to adjust to a different cue. For me, I don’t think it will last too long.’

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Shaun Murphy feels it is ‘really poor’ that Stephen Hendry admitted on punditry duty he had not watched women’s world champion Baipat Siripaporn play before, but said the seven-time world champion is not alone with his lazy attitude to the job.

Hendry is working with ITV4 at the Champion of Champions this week, where Baipat will take on Judd Trump on Thursday.

The legendary Scot was asked by presenter Jill Douglas how impressed he has been with the reigning women’s world champ, but Hendry admitted he has never seen the Thai star play.

Douglas was not impressed, saying, ‘oh come on Stephen’ and Murphy has echoed that sentiment, feeling that some pundits need to up their game.

Speaking on his Onefourseven podcast, Murphy said: ‘We’re singling Stephen out this time because he said it. He’s not the only person who’s said it. I think it’s poor, don’t you? I think it’s really poor.

‘When you’re in that position, and you’re stood in a studio, or you’re in commentary, you have to make it your business to find out a little bit about the people you’re going to be covering.

‘I thought it was poor, but there’s a few of them. He’s not on his own, and they seem to wear it like a badge of honour.’

Murphy stepped up the slaying of Hendry – maybe with tongue in cheek – suggesting the 54-year-old may not know how to research players even if he wanted to.

‘I don’t really get it. But Stephen’s old, he’s grumpy – he just probably can’t be bothered,’ said the Magician.

‘He’s got his YouTube channel, but does he know how YouTube works? He won’t know how to use it. He wouldn’t know how snooker.org works, he wouldn’t know his way around CueTracker. He’s never analysed any play from any player that he’s covering.

‘He basically got that job because he won seven world titles and that’s it.’

Murphy also wished Ronnie O’Sullivan the best after the Rocket pulled out of the Champion of Champions on Tuesday, citing a need to work on his mental health.

The world number one posted on social media: ‘Hi guys, just wanted to let you know I’m unfortunately withdrawing from the Champions of champions event tomorrow. Mentally I feel a bit drained and stressed and I want to look after my mental health and my body. I’m sorry to all the fans but I’ll be back stronger.’

Responding to the news, Murphy said: ‘I think you just have to hope he goes away, gets the rest he needs, and comes back stronger.

‘I think it’s great that in recent times, people have felt more confident about discussing their mental health. It is good to see that people feel free and able to talk about it.

‘I think it’s a real shame for the tournament, and I think it has to be said that he’s had a number of health concerns in recent weeks and months.

‘So I hope he goes away and gets things sorted. He pulled out of an event citing tennis elbow, and he pulled out of another event for something else.

‘This one has been for mental health concerns, so he’s going through it, isn’t he?’

Murphy plays his opening Champion of Champions match against Gary Wilson on Thursday afternoon, with the winner facing either Baipat or Trump later that day.

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World champion Luca Brecel wants to see the end of the bow tie in snooker, saying he loses ‘about 20 per cent’ of his game when playing in the formal attire.

The Belgian Bullet won the world title in sensational style this year at the Crucible and did so in the traditional waistcoat and bow tie which snooker fans have become accustomed to.

The 28-year-old believes he cannot hit his peak when playing in the restrictive clothes, though, and he reckons plenty of players agree with him.

Asked what changes he would make to snooker if he was making the decisions, he immediately honed in on clothing, telling Metro.co.uk: ‘One of them is definitely dress code.

‘The bow tie is just horrible. I lose about 20 per cent of my game when I play with a bow tie and I think there are other players have said it as well backstage.

‘Maybe loosen up a bit with the dress code because some shots you feel tight because of the shirt or the trousers and everything.

‘I understand it’s an elite sport and it looks good on TV probably, but we need to work something out there.’

Brecel will be in more relaxed attire this week at the Champion of Champions, where he takes on Barry Hawkins in his opening game on Tuesday afternoon.

The Matchroom-run event has opted for t-shirts over the traditional shirt and waistcoat, with the players’ names and nicknames emblazoned on the back.

Brecel is not stopping at attire when it comes to innovative ideas, though, and would like to see a shot clock brought into more events.

The Shoot Out is the only tournament currently using a shot clock on the main tour, but the world champ would like to see it brought in more widely to speed the game up.

‘Other than the dress code, maybe a shot clock, that would be good I think,’ he said. ‘I would have it in any of the tournaments, maybe. Just try to make it more attractive, quicker.

‘I always try to look at it from a viewer’s perspective because it is an entertainment business so it’s got to be quicker and more entertaining.’

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Ronnie O’Sullivan will not be defending his Champion of Champions title in Bolton this week, withdrawing from the event the day before he was due to play.

The Rocket confirmed that he will not play as scheduled on Wednesday, saying: ‘I want to look after my mental health and my body.’

O’Sullivan was due to play Zhang Anda in his opening contest on Wednesday, with the winner taking o neither John Higgins or Chris Wakelin for a place in the semi-finals.

The world number one posted on X on Tuesday morning: ‘Hi guys, just wanted to let you know I’m unfortunately withdrawing from the Champions of Champions event tomorrow.

‘Mentally I feel a bit drained and stressed and I want to look after my mental health and my body. I’m sorry to all the fans but I’ll be back stronger.’

He told the Daily Record: ‘I can’t do backwards and forwards, tournament after tournament

‘You have to choose your battles. There is a lot of travelling involved. My mental health is very, very important to me. My doctor is always monitoring me. I don’t want to get burned out. I don’t want to end up cracking up with mental exhaustion or mental stress.

‘I have to be very careful with picking and choosing my events now.’

The 47-year-old was playing at the International Championship in Tianjin, China last week, reaching the semi-finals where he was beaten by Zhang on Saturday.

He returned to the UK on Monday evening with some uncertainty on whether he would play in Bolton or not, but he has decided to take the week off to recover from a hectic schedule.

O’Sullivan’s manager, Jason Francis, posted on X: ‘Mental health is much more important than a game of snooker. You can only squeeze the fruit so much and the juice dries up… care not criticism required.’

Tournament organisers Matchroom confirmed that Ding Junhui will replace O’Sullivan in the draw, flying in on Tuesday to play Zhang on Wednesday.

Ding had been a possible competitor until Zhang won the International Championship on Sunday and booked his place in Bolton and will now get a chance for revenge after losing to his compatriot in the quarter-finals in Tianjin.

Matchroom also stated that any sanctions for O’Sullivan’s late withdrawal would be a matter for the WPBSA.

O’Sullivan will next be in action at the UK Championship in York later this month, but first he will be launching his documentary ‘Ronnie O’Sullivan: Edge of Everything’ next week, released in cinemas on 21 November before landing on Prime Video two days later.

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Ronnie O’Sullivan will not be short of motivation when he takes on Zhang Anda at the Champion of Champions, with Judd Trump expecting the Rocket to be out to prove a point.

Zhang lifted the International Championship trophy on Sunday, beating Tom Ford 10-6 in the final to claim his first ranking title in some style, making a 147 early in the match.

The 31-year-old beat O’Sullivan in the semi-finals, making it a remarkable double over the Rocket after beating him at the English Open last month as well.

Zhang made it all the way to the final in Brentwood, where Trump got the better of him, and feels that the wins over O’Sullivan have given Mighty Mouse a new level of confidence.

‘I think that any time you beat Ronnie in a tournament, that gives you a bit of an extra boost,’ Trump told Metro.co.uk. ‘Especially for him to do it twice in a row.

‘It’s hard to know whether he’s going to keep this up or he’s just done well to win while he’s playing well, because he’s never really done it before. It’s new territory.

‘He’s always looked like he’s had the potential, I don’t know what the difference is now. He’s scoring a lot heavier this season. He always looks as if he’s one of the calmer players, he looks very laid back, he takes it in his stride and not the type of person who would be nervous. He looks like he belongs there.’

Zhang booked his spot in the Champion of Champions, starting on Monday, with the win in Tianjin and plays O’Sullivan once again on Wednesday.

The man in form will fancy his chances but Trump is expecting the Rocket to be out for revenge and very motivated to prevent a hat-trick of defeats.

‘Ronnie’s not going to enjoy that one, I don’t think,’ said Trump. ‘He doesn’t want to be losing for a third time, that’s for sure.

‘He’ll have a bit of extra incentive, he’ll want to prove him wrong this time.’

Trump went to the International Championship after winning the previous three ranking titles and he extended his amazing run to 22 match wins on the spin before defeat to Stephen Maguire in China.

Somewhat bizarrely that match was not shown as it was not on one of the two TV tables, which seemed strange given the immense form Trump has been showing and the profile of a clash with Maguire.

The world number three certainly thought it was weird and didn’t help him keep up the standards he ahs displayed over the last month.

‘Being on the outside tables wasn’t ideal for me,’ he said. ‘I didn’t lack motivation but it’s just not the same atmosphere, it’s very hard for me to have the same intensity when I play on the outside tables.

‘It was like that in the European Masters [in August], but then I felt I deserved to be stuck out on table three, I had something to prove. But this time I think most people would agree it was a bit of a strange decision for me to be out there.

‘It just felt a bit strange after being on that run that I was stuck on the outside, I lost and it felt a bit dismissed, it was a bit hush-hush, it was all a bit weird.

‘My first game I was on the same time as Ronnie. They’ve had a long time to plan that, you’d think you’d be on Table One as defending champion, then the storyline of winning the last three events, playing Stephen Maguire, that’s a good game at any time.

‘Even after I lost, if I’d have won I’d have been on Table Three again. It seemed like all the top players kept being in the same session, which didn’t really make sense.’

Trump is still feeling good about his game though, which he should be after claiming the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open titles already this season.

He is hoping to pick up the Champion of Champions trophy as well, an event he has won once before and finished runner-up in three more times, and a tournament he sees as comparable to The Masters.

‘It’s trying to gain its own identity, staying away from other tournaments and trying to do its own thing,’ he said. ‘I think everyone loves the Champion of Champions, it’s very close to the Masters. The Masters being in Ally Pally, the crowd in London is a little bit better, but otherwise the Champion of Champions is almost there.

‘It’s a tournament I seem to have done better in as I’ve got older and I’ve recognised how big it is, the way it’s run, the way you’re treated in that event, it all makes for a better standard.’

Trump takes on women’s world champion Baipat Siripaporn in his opening game in Bolton on Thursday.

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Zhang Anda has completed the greatest week of his snooker career by beating Tom Ford 10-6 to win the International Championship, pocketing £175,000 in the process.

The 31-year-old had never been to a ranking semi-final before last month’s English Open, but he finished runner-up in Brentwood and has gone one better on Sunday in Tianjin.

He did so in style as well, making a 147 in the third frame of the final and two more centuries on his way to the title.

The huge financial prize will see him soar up the rankings from number 37 into the top 16, which means he will not have to go through qualifying for the UK Championship and he will now have his eye on a Masters debut in January.

Mighty Mouse hardly had a comfortable run to his first title, beating Mark Williams in the second round, Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals and Ronnie O’Sullivan in the semis, before getting the better of Ford in the showpiece.

After the huge win he revealed that he had considered hanging up his cue during the height of the Covid pandemic, when he was languishing down the rankings, but is very glad he did not.

‘I’m feeling extremely excited. During the pandemic, I had considered retiring and giving up,’ Zhang told WST. ‘But later on, I couldn’t bear it and chose to return to the arena. I have been doing quite well in the past two or three years.

‘The English Open had a significant impact on my improvement. When facing a disadvantage, I tell myself not to slack off. The English Open final taught me a valuable lesson and provided a great experience. This time, I maintained my focus because the opponent could have come back at any moment.’

Ford will be disappointed he missed out on a first ranking title himself, but also had a superb week, beating the likes of Mark Selby, Barry Hawkins and Marco Fu.

The £75,000 runner-up prize will also see the Englishman climb the rankings and into the top 16 as well, which puts him in the same spot as Zhang ahead of the UK and Masters.

The 40-year-old said: ‘I am gutted I got beat. Zhang was the better player so hats off to him. He deserved to win. It has been an amazing week. A nice arena and a big crowd. It is always good to come to China. I can’t look at any positives at the moment as I got beat. I’ll look at it in the next few days and hopefully I’ll be a bit more positive.’

Considering both players were competing in the biggest match of their lives, it was an impressively high quality affair.

Both made half centuries as the first two frames were shared, then Zhang produced the incredible 147 in the third, the second maximum of a career which is taking off spectacularly.

Ford wasn’t rattled, though, knocking in a 93 in the next and got into a lead at 4-3, before Zhang made 86 and 101 to end the first session 5-4 ahead.

The Englishman came back for the evening session impressively, making 91 to level up again but then Mighty Mouse got on a roll, winning the next four frames, with efforts of 71, 65 and 108 along the way.

Just one frame from defeat, Ford kept the game alive in the 15th and looked set to be winning the next before unexpectedly missing a black off the spot on 51. Zhang stepped in and nervelessly cleared up with a 70 to get his hands on the trophy.

With the win, Zhang books his spot in next week’s Champion of Champions in Bolton, where he will take on Ronnie O’Sullivan in his opening contest on Wednesday.

The Rocket will be hoping for revenge after defeat to Zhang in the semi-finals as he looks to defend the title he won last year by beating Judd Trump in the final.

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Zhang Anda is trying not to ponder the challenge of beating Ronnie O’Sullivan in the International Championship too much, but Mighty Mouse knows he can beat the Rocket because he did it last month.

The 31-year-old has enjoyed a great run to the semi-finals in Tianjin, beating the likes of Mark Williams and Ding Junhui along the way, but things do not get any easier as he has the world number one ahead of him in the semis.

Thankfully for the Chinese he has cause for confidence as he beat O’Sullivan at the English Open just a few weeks ago on his run to the final in Essex.

That was Zhang’s first ranking event final, losing out to Judd Trump in Brentwood, and has been part of an excellent season so far.

He says that has been a huge turning point for him, releasing himself of nerves, but he knows that a huge challenge awaits him on Saturday.

‘The most important thing for me is the English Open. It’s more enjoyable for me to play snooker after that, more enjoyment than nervous,’ Zhang told WST.

‘In my mind, he [O’Sullivan] is not only the world number one but the best player in snooker the most legendary player, in many people’s minds too.

‘Don’t think about it too much. It’s just a game. Try to enjoy playing against him.’

Zhang is playing just his second ranking semi-final while O’Sullivan is in his 89th and the 47-year-old says things are trickier these days as he competes with players striving to get to the top, where he has been operating for 30 years.

‘Each match I win nowadays is one of the best wins of my life, because I’m old. I’ve been around a long time,’ said O’Sullivan after beating Ali Carter in the quarter-finals.

‘I’m not getting better and if anything I’m not the player I was. Players are all striving to achieve, young and hungry. It is harder now. Normally I would win tournaments quite easily and wouldn’t drop many frames even against the top players. It is tough now. I enjoy any win I get. Ali is one of the in form players this season. He is the in form player and I managed to beat him. So for me it is a great win.

‘Every occasion is a good one when I play, so it doesn’t matter who I am against really. I’ve always had good crowds, every match I have played is a big one. People want to beat me and take me down. I’ve had to deal with that all of my life so I’ve never played a match which isn’t a big one.’

The winner of O’Sullivan vs Zhang will take on Tom Ford in the final on Sunday after the Englishman beat Jordan Brown 9-6 in the first semi-final on Friday.

The second semi is played at 6am and 11.30am UK time on Saturday live on Discovery+ and Eurosport.

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Tom Ford will have the chance to land the first ranking title of his career on Sunday in the International Championship final after a superb 9-6 win over Jordan Brown in the semi-finals on Friday.

The 40-year-old knocked in three centuries, including three on the spin late in the match, to book his spot in the final against either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Zhang Anda.

It is the third time Model-T will contest a ranking final, having lost in the showpieces of the Paul Hunter Classic and last season’s German Masters, but this is the biggest of the trio by far.

The Leicester cueman has already secured £75,000, which will take him into the world’s top 16, but the trophy would bring with it £175,000, one of the biggest pay cheques on offer all season.

Ford was pleased with how he played in general against Brown, but is aiming for more consistency in the final, whether it be against the Rocket or Mighty Mouse.

‘I felt really good out there. As soon as I got in the balls I felt like it was going to be one chance,’ he told WST. ‘I felt really comfortable, but I’ve got to up my game because it’s okay that I scored well when I got in, but it’s getting in.

‘There were some frames where I couldn’t beat my dad, but there were some frames where I could have beat anyone.

‘I don’t feel as though I’m going to fall apart this week. It doesn’t matter who I play, I feel like I can get in the balls and play as well as anybody.’

Ford said he was hampered by a cold arena and was worried about his eyesight which he feels is on the wane, but he is clearly in great shape when break-building.

‘I struggled early on in the match. My hands are always cold and it felt a bit cold in the arena tonight to start with, so it was like playing with two blocks of ice as hands,’ he said.

‘When I got into it and warmed up a bit I felt really good in the balls, but I’m definitely going to Specsavers when I get back because anything over six foot I’m struggling to see properly.

‘I knew when I got in the balls I was playing well and scored well.’

It was Brown who made a flying start to the match, with breaks of 75, 117 and 58 helping him to an early 3-0 lead, but Ford showed the poise and composure that he has been showing all week to respond and win the next three to level up. The final two frames of the opening session were shared and the pair were locked at 4-4.

Returning for the evening session in China, Brown again started the better, knocking in a superb 134 to move ahead again, but the two were proving very difficult to seperate as a 133 from Ford made it 6-6.

That huge break gave the Englishman the impetus, though, and he followed it with two more centuries (101 & 109) to go one from victory, making 57 in what proved to be the final frame.

Brown said: ‘I was disappointed with the way I played to be honest. I don’t want to take anything away from Tom. I thought he finished off the match very well. I think I just ran out of gas in the end. Ultimately, I’m proud of what I achieved this week. From where I was, especially a couple of months ago, I definitely would have taken this.’

Waiting in the final for Ford will be either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Zhang Anda who play their semi-final over two sessions on Saturday.

The seven-time world champion is clearly hot favourite to progress, but Zhang got the better of the Rocket at the English Open last month on his way to the final, where he was beaten by Judd Trump.

Ford has wins over O’Sullivan in the Shoot Out and WST Pro Series, but he’s never downed the Rocket over a longer match than best-of-three. He has never played Zhang before.

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Ronnie O’Sullivan is the only member of the top 16 left at the International Championship ahead of the semi-finals getting underway in Tianjin on Friday.

The Rocket is hot favourite from here on in as he prepares for a semi-final clash with Zhang Anda, while Tom Ford takes on Jordan Brown on the other side of the draw.

The world number one was a long way from his best when he took on Ali Carter in the quarter-finals on Thursday, but he was good enough to pick up a 6-4 win over the Captain, who will be frustrated he could not capitalise on an under-par O’Sullivan.

The seven-time world champion did not make a break over 60 during the scrappy win, but Carter could only make one of his own (69) and will see it as an opportunity missed.

‘Each match I win nowadays is one of the best wins of my life, because I’m old. I’ve been around a long time,’ said O’Sullivan.

‘I’m not getting better and if anything I’m not the player I was. Players are all striving to achieve, young and hungry. It is harder now. Normally I would win tournaments quite easily and wouldn’t drop many frames even against the top players. It is tough now. I enjoy any win I get. Ali is one of the in form players this season. He is the in form player and I managed to beat him. So for me it is a great win.’

Other than O’Sullivan marching on, it has been a tournament of shocks in China, with the other three semi-finalists downing their more illustrious opponents.

Zhang Anda has been in superb form this season, so it is not a huge surprise he beat Ding Junhui 6-3 on Thursday, but it is still a huge win for Mighty Mouse.

Breaks of 124, 82, 76, 65 and 60 were enough for the English Open finalist to see off the legend of Chinese snooker and set-up a clash with the Rocket, a man he beat on his way to the final in Brentwood just last month.

Ford scored a big 6-4 win over Barry Hawkins earlier on Thursday, surging into a 4-1 lead with breaks of 65, 125, 106 and 77, before a fightback from the Hawk, but it was Model-T who got over the line.

Brown’s win over Stephen Maguire was a brilliant tussle which the Northern Irishman eventually claimed 6-5 thanks to a half-century in the decider.

The Antrim Ferrari has enjoyed a superb week in Tianjin, beating David Gilbert, Kyren Wilson, John Higgins and now Maguire, who himself appears to have returned to form, making breaks of 115, 94, 80, 77 and 54 even in defeat.

Ford’s run has also been impressive, ousting Cao Yupeng, Marco Fu, Mark Selby and Hawkins, setting up only a second ever meeting with Brown in the last four.

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Ronnie O’Sullivan has progressed to the quarter-finals of the International Championship quite serenely, while a string of other big names have fallen early in Tianjin.

The Rocket faced a potentially tricky test in Anthony McGill on Wednesday but saw off the Scot 6-2 to set-up a clash with old rival Ali Carter in the last eight.

The world number one knocked in a 133, taking his tally of centuries at this event to six as he looks to win this event for the first time.

Carter is his next challenge after the Captain impressed with a 6-1 win over Daniel Wells in the last 16, with two more tons meaning he has as many centuries as the Rocket in Tianjin.

There were shocks earlier on Wednesday as John Higgins was beaten 6-3 by Jordan Brown and Mark Selby lost by the same scoreline to Tom Ford.

That leaves a very open top half of the draw as Brown goes on to play Stephen Maguire, while Ford will meet Bary Hawkins.

Maguire made three centuries in a 6-4 victory over Ryan Day, while Hawkins produced a remarkable comeback to beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 6-5.

The Hawk found himself 1-5 behind and in serious trouble, with the Thai star making breaks of 114, 88 and 82, but the Englishman reeled off five frames on the spin to progress.

‘Little bit in shock, to be honest with you, I was completely not in the game at the start, missing balls and just not with it at all,’ Hawkins told WST.

‘Something, I wouldn’t say clicked, but I played a little bit better and I could tell Thepchaiya was a little bit nervous. I just kept trying hard, I didn’t play great but kept battling away.

‘I can’t remember the last time I won a match from that far behind, so I’m absolutely delighted.’

The other quarter-final in the bottom half will have plenty of local interest as Chinese superstar Ding Junhui meets his compatriot Zhang Anda, who has been in fine form.

Ding downed Pang Junxu 6-2, while Zhang beat Lyu Haotian 6-3 in a quarter dominated by Chinese players, and one will progress to meet either O’Sullivan or Carter in the semis.

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Judd Trump’s incredible winning run finally came to an end on Tuesday as he was downed 6-3 by Stephen Maguire at the International Championship in Tianjin, China.

The 34-year-old won 22 matches in ranking events on the spin, claiming the English Open, Wuhan Open and Northern Ireland Open on that epic run.

The Ace still looked in sparking form in Tianjin, winning his first two matches 6-0, but Maguire got the better of him in the last 32, to make Trump taste defeat for the first time since the British Open in September.

Maguire very nearly ended Trump’s run in Belfast, losing 5-4 in the quarter-finals after losing 3-1, but the Scot has got the better of the Englishman now.

Frustratingly for fans, the match was not chosen as one of the two televised contests on Tuesday evening in China, with Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui’s games prioritised and Trump’s game scheduled alongside those two.

The 2019 world champion’s winning run was epic, but some way short of the record, set by Ronnie O’Sullivan at 38 when he turned professional in 1992. Incidentally, with Trump out, the Rocket will remain world number one.

Trump joins a string of big names to fall before the last 16 stage at the International Championship, with Mark Allen, Kyren Wilson, Stuart Bingham and Jack Lisowski all losing earlier on Tuesday.

Allen was downed 6-3 by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, Wilson 6-4 by Jordan Brown, Bingham ousted 6-4 by Ali Carter and Lisowski downed 6-2 by Anthony McGill.

This followed early shocks on Monday when world champion Luca Brecel was beaten by Mark Davis, Mark Williams lost to Zhang Anda and Neil Robertson was hammered 6-1 by Daniel Wells.

Big names do remain in Tianjin, though, with Ronnie O’Sullivan beating Jak Jones to set up a last 16 meeting with McGill.

Mark Selby is also still going, taking on fellow Leicester man Tom Ford in the last 16 after a 6-2 victory over Xiao Guodong.

John Higgins has dropped just two frames in back-to-back 6-1 wins over Dylan Emery and David Grace, set to play Jordan Brown next, while Ding Junhui will meet compatriot Pang Junxu in the last 16.

Trump’s exit means there are only three former winners of the International Championship still in the field – Selby, Higgins and Ding, with O’Sullivan never having gone past the quarter-final before in this event.

Those in the last 16 have already secured themselves £14,000, but will all have their eyes on the huge £175,000 top prize.

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The International Championship gets going on Sunday in Tianjin, with the world’s best battling it out for a huge first prize.

The event returns to the calendar for the first time since 2019, back from a Covid-enforced hiatus, with Judd Trump the defending champion after downing Shaun Murphy in the final four years ago.

Trump also emerged as champion at the last three ranking events over the last month and heads back to China to try and become only the second player ever to win four on the spin, after Stephen Hendry.

There is no shortage of big names lining up to try and stop him, with the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan, Mark Selby, Luca Brecel, Mark Allen, John Higgins and Mark Williams all involved.

The International Championship runs from 5-12 November, with the busy schedule rolling straight into the Champion of Champions in Bolton, starting the following day.

All the action from the Tianjin People’s Stadium will be shown on Eurosport and Discovery+ in the UK.

International Championship draw and schedule

All matches are second round contests unless otherwise stated.

Sunday 5 November
1.30am (UK time)
Stephen Maguire vs Joe O’Connor
Jordan Brown vs Dave Gilbert
Tian Pengfei vs Barry Hawkins
Oliver Lines vs Mark Allen
Jack Lisowski vs Scott Donaldson
Gong Chenzhi vs Wang Xinzhong (pre-qualifier)
Ben Woollaston vs Wang Xinbo (R1)
Anthony Hamilton vs Bai Yulu (R1)

6.30am
Ryan Day vs Jackson Page
Elliot Slessor vs Kyren Wilson
Marco Fu vs Sanderson Lam
Matthew Stevens vs Stuart Bingham
Chris Wakelin vs Lyu Haotian
Zhou Yuelong vs Martin O’Donnell (R1)
Ding Junhui vs Ian Burns (R1)
Luca Brecel vs Daniel Womersley (R1)

11.30am
Hossein Vafaei vs Ross Muir
David Grace vs John Higgins
Tom Ford vs Cao Yupeng
Jamie Jones vs Ricky Walden
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Matthew Selt
John Astley vs Ali Carter
Judd Trump vs Gong/Wang (R1)
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Ken Doherty (R1)

Monday 06 November
06.30am
Woollaston/Wang vs Dylan Emery
Mark Selby vs Stuart Carrington
Jimmy Robertson vs Xiao Guodong
Si Jiahui vs Jak Jones
Hamilton/Bai vs Zhou/O’Donnell
Mark Williams vs Zhang Anda
Noppon Saengkham vs Liam Pullen
Mark Davis vs Brecel/Womersley

11.30am
Trump/Gong/Wang vs Michael White
O’Sullivan/Doherty vs Mark Joyce
Anthony McGill vs Sam Craigie
Daniel Wells vs Neil Robertson
Shaun Murphy vs Dominic Dale
Robbie Williams vs Gary Wilson
Long Zehuang vs Ding/Burns
Pang Junxu vs Fan Zhengyi

Tue 07 Nov: Last 32
Wed 08 Nov: Last 16
Thu 09 Nov: Quarter-finals
Fri 10 & Sat 11 Nov: Semi-finals
Sun 12 Nov: Final

International Championship prize money

Winner: £175,000
Runner-up: £75,000
Semi-final: £33,000
Quarter-final: £22,000
Last 16: £14,000
Last 32: £9,000
Last 64: £5,000
Highest break: £5,000

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The draw and schedule for the Champion of Champions this month has been released, but due to the packed nature of the World Snooker Tour, how it will play out is still a little up in the air.

The International Championship has returned to the calendar this season, getting underway on Sunday in Tianjin, China and featuring all the biggest names in the sport battling it out for the £175,000 top prize.

The event runs from 5-12 November, with the Champion of Champions starting in Bolton the day after the trophy is awarded in Tianjin.

That poses an obvious problem for anyone who reaches Sunday’s final and is set to be involved on Monday, made all the more difficult by the group format of the Champion of Champions, so not just one match must be rescheduled, but a four-player group.

Monday’s group features three players competing in China – Mark Allen, Mark Selby and Ali Carter – all of whom will have genuine ambitions of reaching the final, and if they did, could not be in Bolton as scheduled.

Organisers confirmed that the Champion of Champions schedule is subject to change and are simply having to wait and see what happens at the International Championship and react accordingly.

Entire groups may have to change days, with decisions made and fans informed as early as possible. It will be sorted out, but fans attending may not know who they are set to see until very late in the day.

The International Championship could also influence the Champion of Champions as the winner on Sunday will take the final spot in Bolton if they have not already qualified.

If it is a player who has already qualified then Ding Junhui will take the spot in Wednesday’s group, playing Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The schedule may be a bit hectic for a player or two involved in both tournaments, but Judd Trump has proved recently that the busy calendar can be managed.

The 34-year-old has won three tournaments on the spin, claiming the English Open title in Brentwood, Wuhan Open in China and the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast, all in October.

He heads to the International Championship looking to make it four titles on the spin, beginning his campaign on Sunday.

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