The rapid rise of Bristol youngster Judd Trump gathered pace today as he secured a first appearance at the Wembley Masters next January with a 6-1 win over surprise opponent Mark Joyce. Click below for more…
Judd Trump made short work of his match with Mark Joyce today as he secured a spot in the prestigious Wembley Masters tournament next January with a 6-1 win.
Judd has been the player to beat all week really, having beaten Matt Couch, Dave Harold, Jamie Cope, Jin Long and Ken Doherty to reach the final already, and it continued today as he took the first two frames against Joyce to lead 2-0. Mark responded by taking the third but this only seemed to fire Judd up further as he hit 138 (the highest break of the tournament), to lead 3-1 at the interval. An 81 in the next seemed showed that he was not going to relax and he took the next two as well to win the match 6-1.
It is yet another significant landmark in Judd’s career as he continues his rapid development this season after a couple of years on the tour where he was still clearly finding his feet. All of the best players in the game have captured the Wembley title at some point and I’m sure that Judd will look forward to having a go at it himself this season and trying to become the youngest winner of the event since Ronnie O’Sullivan in 1995 (Thanks Mon!). Even if he does not, he will gain further experience in front of the TV cameras, as well as boosting his profile further, particularly after his semi-final run in the Grand Prix.
For Mark Joyce it is a disappointing end to what has been an unbelievable week for him. Without doubt his best run in an event since he has been on the tour, perhaps this will give him the confidence to push on in the ranking events and secure a place in the top 48 for the first time. A consistent winner of his opening round match in most events over the last 18 months, it would appear that he has every chance.