Judd Trump would not be drawn on the top snooker players of all-time, but has named the best five in his era in the sport.

The 37-year-old has been professional for over 20 years, having joined the pro circuit as a teenager in 2005.

It took him a few years to get used to the step up in competition after a stellar junior career, but ever since he has settled, he has been a relentless winner.

The Bristolian has racked up 31 ranking titles, with only three players in snooker history boasting more.

He also has two Masters titles to his name and has just been dislodged as world number one, having spent two years at the top of the rankings.

Despite all those achievements, there have been plenty of other star performers over the last two decades and Trump has only placed himself fifth in his top five of the era.

The Ace in the Pack was asked for a top five of all-time, but told Metro: ‘Only in my era, I’d say, I struggle to put people in who I didn’t really get the chance to see in their prime.

‘So I think Ronnie [O’Sullivan] would be number one. This is without [Stephen] Hendry, because he was a little bit before my time. He would be in the top five. Probably two or three.

‘Then John [Higgins], two. [Mark] Williams, three. [Mark] Selby, four.’

A long pause came after Selby and it was suggested to Trump that he could complete the quintet, which he agreed with, saying: ‘Yeah, me at five.’

Trump was born in August 1989 so could have seen some of peak Hendry in the 1990s, but only really remembers the great Scot past his prime after the turn of the millennium.

‘Not really, no,’ he said of watching Hendry at his peak. ‘I feel like the very end, I’ve seen his bad losses rather than his big wins.

‘I think it was the game against [Peter] Ebdon [loss in the 2002 World Championship final]. I feel like that was one of the games I remember as a kid. That’s probably not what he wants to be remembered by.

‘I missed ever seeing him in his prime so it’s difficult to comment. I think some of the other players, a little bit older than me, are in a better position to nail it down.’

Hoping to join these greats of the game is current world number one Zhao Xintong, who knocked Trump off the perch last month.

Trump gained a measure of revenge over the Cyclone at the British Open last week, beating him 5-1 in the quarter-finals in Cheltenham.

The Englishman admitted afterwards that he was especially up for the test against Zhao in a bid to topple the best player on the planet right now.

‘It’s not so much of a rivalry, because we’re completely different ages,’ said Trump. ‘But he’s just someone to go at. He’s been the best player in the world over the last seven or eight months, I think, since he won the tournament in Hong Kong [World Grand Prix].

‘Then he won two more and then he’s been in finals. So I feel like he’s probably played the most consistent snooker.

‘I think when you’ve got that kind of person to go at, no matter who it is, no matter who’s number one, I feel like you really have got to get up for them games. It’s obviously been a couple of years since I’ve been in that position and I felt like I had maybe a little bit more to prove.’


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