Judd Trump reveals World Championship plan which he may have already ruined

Judd Trump tried to stay out of the limelight before Sheffield (Picture: Getty Images)

Judd Trump says his plan to fly under the radar at the World Snooker Championship may already by ruined after a brilliant first round performance.

The 35-year-old arrived in Sheffield this year as the world number one and the bookmakers’ favourite to lift the trophy on May 5, but with surprisingly little hype.

Few have been tipping the 2019 champion to conquer the Crucible again this year, despite yet another fine season, with attention elsewhere in the field.

With Trump missing the media day on the eve of the tournament due to tonsilitis and his first round match not starting till Tuesday, we also didn’t see or hear from him as much in the build-up.

While he could not control illness or the predictions of pundits, it has all worked nicely in his plan to be forgotten about as much as possible, maybe taking the pressure off ahead of another Crucible challenge.

However, a 10-4 romp over Zhou Yuelong to open his campaign, which included five centuries, may have ripped that plan apart.

Asked about flying under the radar this year, he said: ‘I was quite happy about that because I just tried to take a step back and be as quiet as possible, stay away from social media, just be silent.

Trump looked in brilliant form in his opening win (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Let everyone else be talked about and me forgotten about. It’s going to be difficult now I’ve put that performance in, but I’ve tried to take a step back this year, try not to do any interviews or anything like that.

‘Not try and build it up, everyone else can have the limelight and say what they want to say, if they’re favourite or not. I’ll try and come in quietly and back myself.’

By the time Trump had beaten Zhou other contenders for the title – the likes of Kyren Wilson and Neil Robertson – had been beaten, and before he has started his second round tie, Mark Selby and Mark Allen have also been ousted from the competition.

Trump was at his new home in Dubai as Wilson and Robertson were beaten, but was only a little surprised by the upsets given the standard throughout the tour.

Trump has a tough task next against Murphy (Picture: Getty Images)

‘It’s different for me with the time difference, I wasn’t able to see the end of some of the games,’ he said. ‘I kept an eye on it and was a bit surprised by some of the results.

‘But anyone can beat anyone, it’s so difficult to win one game here, nothing really surprises me anymore. When players lose I don’t think people are that shocked anymore.’

Trump’s preparation has not been helped by tonsilitis and a neck injury which was troubling him just before he flew to England, but has thankfully eased just in time to play.

‘The neck injury was probably the worst,’ he explained. ‘A few players have had that problem recently, it’s very hard to play, being a snooker player but I managed to get treatment just in time. Hopefully it should be all good now and concentrate on the snooker.

‘I’d just been practicing pretty much every single day and its taken its toll. I woke up one day and couldn’t look to one side. It’s something I’ve had a couple of times, I had it here when I played Rory McLeod [in 2017], luckily this time I managed to get treatment and properly play.

‘It’s just a snooker player injury, I don’t think it’s something most people get, it’s just the awkward positions we get into. It took about a day and a half for it to change. I wasn’t able to play certain shots when I practiced, but after a day and a half it was ok.’

Trump will need to be at full fitness when he takes on Shaun Murphy in a blockbuster second round tie, which starts on Sunday morning.

The Magician looked in fine form as well in his opening win, a 10-4 victory over Daniel Wells.