Barry Hearn says Judd Trump can save snooker - Snooker Update
The chairman of World Snooker, Barry Hearn, has hailed Judd Trump’s courageous performance in the Betfred.com World Snooker Championships and added that the young cueman can save the sport of Snooker.
The past twelve months have been awful for Hearn. He was about to achieve his goal in the sport, when suddenly John Higgins’ match-fixing scandal busted on the opening day of last year’s championship final, which was a huge blew for Hearn.
One of snooker’s prestigious events, the Masters also posted a final of unpopular players, Ding Junhui and Marco Fu. A few weeks later, one of the crowds’ favourite, Ronnie O’Sullivan, pulled himself out of the Berlin Masters.
However, now Hearn has again got someone in the shape of Judd Trump, who can take the sport to a new level. While speaking to the media, Hearn, said, ‘I’ve tried to make the game more popular with younger people. There are a lot of people who don’t really watch snooker and have started watching because of me in these last two weeks, so I’ve got to keep doing my thing, keep a new generation coming through and making kids want to play the game because of it.’
The chairman, added, ‘If I had to write down what I needed for the game of snooker prior to this tournament I’d actually have given a description of Judd Trump. Young, crazy hairstyle, an inspirational figure who motivates young people, widens the audience and entertains.’
World Number fourteen, Trump, who recently won his first ranking event in China, has captured the hearts of a lot of fans of the sport.
The Bristolian Ace, Trump, was lying in the final qualifying round before he came all the way to reach the final of snooker’s most prestigious event. He also became the second youngest player since Stephen Hendry in 1990, to reach the final of a World Championship.
Trump’s admirers include some of the biggest names in snooker which include Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy white and John Higgins.
However, his most flattering compliment came from the former 1985 World Champion, Dennis Taylor, who told the media that Judd Trump is the greatest potter he has ever seen in snooker.
Hearn also claimed that Trump is going to bring young people towards the game. He said that the sport’s crowd is normally limited to people between the age of 35 and 55. The chairman is hopeful that Trump’s success, will be able to attract younger crowds to snooker.
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