Judd Trump claims ‘gradual’ snooker rival Neil Robertson did not need to beat him

Snooker star Judd Trump says Neil Robertson “didn’t deserve to win like that” after losing to him at the 2024 Champion of Champions.

Facing off at the event in Bolton, Trump lost 6-4 to Robertson in the quarter-finals, with the Australian now set to face Mark Williams in the Champion of Champions semi-final. However, speaking after his defeat, Trump has said Robertson “didn’t deserve” to win in the manner he did.

The tie lasted four-and-a-half hours, with Robertson taking a 3-1 lead over Trump, only for the latter to level things up. Robertson then went on to take the next two frames after that, which included a lengthy eighth frame, which lasted almost an hour.

The Australian went on to seal his win, producing a sensational shot to pot the blue followed by the pink and black to defeat Trump. But speaking to ITV after the match, Trump told the broadcaster he believes he was “unlucky” to lose to Robertson.

“Not a lot to say really,” he told ITV. “I thought I was very unlucky. To be honest, I think Neil knows that he didn’t deserve to win like that, but that happens.

“He put in a good spell to go 3-1 up and after that he had a few chances, missed quite a few long balls and got safe every time, it was just one of those days.

“You could say it was a great blue but he shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place. Look, it was a tough game, it was very slow. There was a lot of… I love Neil, but there was a lot of slow playing. He’s a much better player when he just gets on with it. Hopefully he gets on with it for the rest of the tournament.”

However, Trump did also add that he hoped to see Robertson go on to win the Champion of Champions, adding “he’s a great player”. Trump said: “It would be nice to see him go and win it again, he’s a great player, it just got a bit bogged down out there.”