Players Championship: Trump ready to dominate the field
On-song Bristolian can claim back-to-back titles
Judd Trump is in tremendous form at present and can follow up his stunning win at the World Grand Prix with victory at the Players Tour Championship this week.
The Englishman has been arguably the most consistent performer this season, regularly reaching the business end of big tournaments. However, his only trophy has come from the Australian Open last July.
Three finals since that triumph in Bendigo produced no more silverware but that changed on Sunday in Wales. Trump was a distant second favourite going into the showpiece with Ronnie O'Sullivan and looked to be struggling after falling behind early on. He then showed his unquestioned quality and an impressive maturity to fight back and claim the title, pocketing £100,000 in the process.
Having lost to the Rocket in both the UK Championship and the Champion of Champions finals, this will be a gorilla-sized monkey off the back of Trump. Although he has won more prestigious tournaments in the past, this could rank as his greatest achievement given how well O'Sullivan had been playing at the Grand Prix.
There is a feeling of Rory McIlroy about Trump. He burst onto the scene as an uber-talented youngster and made an impression early. He has endured something of a fallow period since but this could be the equivalent of McIlroy's 2014 Open win. Trump similarly could now surge back to the top of the world rankings on the crest of a wave that could see him surf all the way to World Championship glory in Sheffield.
There is no O'Sullivan in the field in Bangkok which leaves Trump as the standout player. The likes of Mark Selby and Neil Robertson may challenge that point but they have been so woefully inconsistent of late that they will be shouted down.
Trump goes into this tournament as joint favourite alongside the World Champ and the Aussie, and of the three it has to be the "Ace in the Pack" that we back for more glory.
