On Sunday night, Judd Trump created his own piece of snooker history, much to the joy of the enormous and energetic Belfast crowd at the Waterfront Hall.
Trump defeated Chris Wakelin 9-3 in the final of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open in Belfast, becoming the sixth player in snooker history – and the first in a decade – to win three successive ranking titles.
From 2-1 down, Trump proved his standing as the best player on the planet by winning eight of the following nine frames with three hundreds and four more breaks over 50 to win the £80,000 top prize and the Alex Higgins Trophy.
Trump has also won the BetVictor English Open and the Wuhan Open this month, extending his winning streak to 20 matches and earning him £300,000.
Ray Reardon, Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, and, most recently, Ding Junhui are the only players to have won three ranking titles on the spin.
It’s his fourth Northern Ireland Open title, having won in 2018, 2019, and 2020, and he continues the streak of solely left-handed champions since the event’s inception in 2016.
Trump, 34, of Bristol, now has 26 career ranking championships, one more than Mark Williams and one more than Ronnie O’Sullivan (39), Stephen Hendry (36), John Higgins (31) and Davis (28).
He increases his lead at the top of the one-year rankings and BetVictor Series list, and although remaining third in the official standings, he narrows the deficit on leader O’Sullivan to only £10,000.
He will compete in the International Championship in China in early November, hoping to become the second player in history to win four consecutive ranking titles, breaking Stephen Hendry’s record of five in a row set in 1990.
Wakelin, who was playing the biggest match of his life, got off to a strong start and led 2-1, but he couldn’t stop an outstanding opponent at the peak of his game.
Wakelin of Nuneaton lost out on doubling his ranking championships after winning the BetVictor Shoot Out.
Nonetheless, the 31-year-old has made significant progress in his career this year, and the £35,000 runner-up prize propels him to 21st in the international rankings.
Trump inflicted the majority of the damage in the first session, grabbing a 6-2 lead. A packed throng at Waterfront Hall hoped for a Wakelin comeback, but instead got a Trump potting masterclass as he hit runs of 101 and 125 to increase the lead to 8-2.
He had his first opportunity in frame 11, but he was out of position at 31-0. Wakelin answered with 52 points, then won a safety exchange and added the points he needed to make it 8-3.
However, the underdog was unable to bring the game to a mid-session break.
