Judd Trump dismisses accusations about new life overseas after quitting UK

Judd Trump has dismissed claims that his move to Dubai is the cause of his disappointing form this season. Trump faced Gary Wilson on Thursday in Round 3 of the Northern Ireland Open, during which he managed his first century of the tournament.

However, the Bristol native had plenty of questions to answer when he arrived in Belfast regarding his surprising displays in recent months, having endured a slow start to the season by his own lofty standards. Trump's far from vintage displays saw him eliminated in the opening round of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in August by Oliver Lines, despite being the defending champion and the world's top-ranked player. He went on to suffer last-16 defeats at both the English Open and the British Open in September. Some have voiced concern over whether moving his base to the Middle-East has played a part in that poor run of results. And question marks remain over his decision to relocate to the UAE, which Ronnie O'Sullivan has also decided to call home since the summer, given the increasingly profitable tournaments emerging across Asia.

But Trump stressed that he has in fact won a host of tournaments since making the move back in January 2024, claiming the German Masters, World Open, Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters, UK Championship and the Shanghai Masters during that time.

"January 2024, I have been doing it since," Trump told TNT Sports. "I have won a lot of big events in that period, it has zero effect on that. That is not the reason why I have not won, it is just that the standard is so good. Sometimes you will have spells of six months, a year without winning, so you have to wait your time, be patient and put in the hard work and it will come."

Trump has also put a new cue in play this season, and he says the change in equipment is a process he feels will be to his benefit in the long term. "It is a big change in changing my cue," the 36-year-old continued. "It is going to take a bit of time to get used to, so I am not too worried."

Contrary to the accusations that a Dubai move has perhaps led to this run of form, Trump and O'Sullivan have both spoken highly about the practice facility they share there. Trump told the Metro: "There are two private rooms. I normally go in earlier, I think Ronnie goes in a little bit after when I'm there so I don't really see him very often. Me and Ronnie are all in the same place, it's a very nice practice facility, very nice to be there."

O'Sullivan concurred with Trump about the quality of the practice tables, saying: "It's probably one of the best practice facilities I've ever had. Great, great setup there. And the people there are amazing. I really like it, to be honest, it's just made life a lot more simple, straightforward.

"For work, obviously, I'm working a lot that way anyway, so I don't suffer really with jet lag and my flights are cut down in half. So, yeah, all around, it just makes life so much easier."