Judd Trump says he is facing a player on an upward trend in Elliot Slessor at the British Open on Thursday, although feels his opponent could almost have too much self-belief.
Slessor is still hunting down his first ranking final, but has been to five semis and reached as high as 19 in the world rankings.
The 32-year-old has been touted as one of the best in the game not to land a ranking title for a while now and many expect him to make the breakthrough into the top 16 and the winners’ enclosure in the coming years.
Trump has been impressed with the Gateshead cueist, feeling his game has improved and he has managed to deal with the problem of having a slightly hot-headed attitude.
The former world champion reckons Slessor believes in his ability so much that when he fell short of extremely high standards, it knocked him off his game, but he has got that more under control now.
‘I think the belief is there with him. I don’t know if there’s even too much belief,’ Trump told Metro of Slessor. ‘His problem before was always his attitude, but it’s kind of mellowed down a little bit, I think.
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‘He’s good enough now. I think he scores heavy enough on his day. I’ve seen him, even against me, score very.
‘He’s also very good under pressure. As I said before, sometimes too much self-belief is a bad thing, but he believes in himself so much. I think last time I played him, he made a brilliant break in the last frame to beat me.
‘So you just need to get that right balance. That’s probably the only thing he’s lacking. He’s just trying to search for that.’
Perfectionism causing problems is not unique to Slessor, with Trump naming another North East star as someone who faces the same issue.
‘There’s a few players on tour. I think also Gary Wilson can be his own worst critic as well,’ said Trump. ‘And Elliot’s probably in the same vein as him.
‘Everyone knows how good they are in practice, but it doesn’t really mean anything. You’ve got to forget that. When you get out there, it doesn’t matter how good you know you are. You’re only as good as your performance out there in front of the cameras.’
Trump is expecting a tough test from Slessor on Thursday as they scrap it out for a place in the last 16 in Cheltenham.
‘He’s a great player. He’s been improving, I’d say, the last two or three years now, he’s been on an upward trend. I think the next couple of years he’ll get into the top 16,’ Trump said.
‘He’s been around a long time and he’s still young in snooker terms. I think it took him a little bit longer to mellow out a bit.
‘Too much banging of the cues and stuff like that before was his downfall. But I think he’s someone that, from the outside, looks like he practises incredibly hard and really puts the work in and loves the game.’
Trump has beaten Dylan Emery and Ricky Walden, both 4-2, to reach this stage, while Slessor has downed Julien Leclercq and Jamie Clarke.
The last 32 in Cheltenham comes to a close on Thursday afternoon, with the last 16 played in the evening session on the same day.
The random draw for the last 16 will be made ahead of Thursday’s afternoon session, which also features Zhao Xintong and John Higgins in action.
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