2-time World Snooker ranking event winner Judd Trump will compete at the upcoming US Open Pool Championship at Harrah’s Resort, Atlantic City September 13-18, in partnership with Caesars Entertainment and the Atlantic City Sports Commission.
Trump will look to be a trendsetter and become the first snooker star of the modern era to turn to 9-ball and goes in on the back of winning five titles on the 2020/21 World Snooker Tour including the World Grand Prix. He will not be the first Snooker player to cross disciplines with Ronnie O’Sullivan having represented Europe at the Mosconi Cup in the early 90s and the likes of Jimmy White, Alex Higgins, and Steve Davis all taking on the challenge.
The Ace in the Pack is heading in at the peak of his powers: “I think the US Open Pool Championship has got the most heritage and prestige to it, it’s been around a long time. Everyone in the world of pool knows it’s the tournament if you are going to win one, it’s this one. For me, that’s what kind of attracted me, to go in at the deep end, going in at the biggest event and see what I can do.”
“I think when I get over there and step out, I don’t want to make a fool of myself, that will add pressure. But in the snooker world, I know what I am capable of and I know when I put the work in I’ve got that belief whereas, in pool, I do not know what’s going to happen. Hopefully, I can have a good run in it.”
“It’s always been a dream of mine to try and take snooker over there into the US, it’s such a big market, it’s an aspiration of mine. It’s nice to be playing any cue sport out there. Just to be a part of it, part of the atmosphere, part of the US Open, hopefully, I can do well and one day they’ll have me back to play again and the dream would be to have a good run.”
“For me, there’s potential to play in front of a whole new fanbase, there’s a lot of people who watch snooker and don’t watch pool and vice versa. I think for me, it’s all about trying to find that middle ground and getting different people interested in different things, and getting people to open their eyes to see what’s going on. It’s a chance for me to get on their radar and hopefully I can put on a good showing of myself and hopefully nobody hates me after the tournament! Hopefully, I can bring them back across to snooker and hopefully in the future combine them both and make them both as big as possible.”
The 2019 World Snooker champion gave us an idea of what fans can expect: “I’m excited for the US Pool fans to get a glimpse of me playing, I will bring a lot more freedom and energy to the game because it isn’t the be-all and end-all on it for me at the moment, my whole life isn’t depending on it. I will be one of the players who can play with a smile on my face with a lot more freedom and enjoyment. Hopefully, they will take to that, they will see I am having fun with what I am doing, I try to get that across in everything I do. I think people respect that and hopefully, I can get as many people as possible playing pool.”
Trump says he isn’t there just to make up the numbers: “At the US Open, I’ve not come to take part, I’ve come to try and win the event. I’ve come to give it my absolute all and to see what I can do with myself, it’s something I’ve always felt I wanted to do, and see how good I can be at pool. I am not under the illusion that I will go there and blow everyone away. I know the breaking off and tactical side of things is going to be tricky for me. I know there’s a lot of things that can go wrong. Hopefully, I can just enjoy myself and pot all the balls on the table and not get into that problem.”
Emily Frazer and Judd Trump｜© Matchroom Pool
Emily Frazer, Matchroom Multi Sport Managing Director: “This is huge news for Matchroom Pool – what a player. Judd is very current with our times right now; he’s forward-thinking, he’s young, modern, and fresh. It’s exactly what Matchroom Multi Sport is about and the direction we’re heading in for our Matchroom Pool Series. To get Judd on board for the US Open is major and positive news for the growth of the sport, Matchroom Pool, and Judd himself in his own profile and career.”
Frazer added: “The US Open is a real big chance for Judd to step over into Pool, take on a new challenge, and in tun gain a different style of audience. It feels like he’s the perfect person for it and why we didn’t stop until he was on board! Judd’s arguably the best and strongest snooker player in the world right now and for someone of his stature and social presence to step into pool is major news for players in our industry and the overall viewership of the sport in areas it may currently be lacking. Seeing Judd’s appreciation for the game, respect for the players in it, and potentially the challenges the event may produce shows his character and I’m excited to see how the pool fans warm to him!”
Click here for the full ticket price list
Click here for the match schedule
Ticket prices start from $31.24 per session for the single-elimination stage and $31.24 for the day during the double-elimination stage.
A range of ticket packages are available including an event pass giving you access to all six days of action for only $166.25, a saving of up to $100.
All tickets are subject to booking and processing fees. Each ticket includes a $5.50 transaction fee which is only applied once per order. Orders of multiple tickets will therefore save $5.50 per additional ticket purchased.
The 2021 US Open Championship heads to Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City for the first time with Germany’s Joshua Filler defending his title.
The 2021 US Open Pool Championship will be partnered by Diamond, who supply the Official Table; the cloth is supplied by Iwan Simonis and the Official Balls are ARAMITH Tournament BLACK pool ball set with Duramith™ Technology by Saluc. Predator is the Official Cue of the event and Kamui are the Official Chalk and Tip. The US Open Pool Championship is sanctioned by the WPA.
斯諾克巨星 Judd Trump 將參加美國公開賽
兩屆世界斯諾克排名賽冠軍 Judd Trump 將於9月13-18日參加在大西洋城 Harrah’s 渡假村酒店舉行的美國公開賽台球錦標賽。 Trump 將成為潮流引領者，成為現代首位跨足9球的斯諾克球星。然而，他並不是第一位參加台球的斯諾克球員，Ronnie O’Sullivan 曾在90年代初代表歐洲參加莫斯考尼盃，另外，如 Jimmy White, Alex Higgins 和 Steve Davis 也都曾接受過台球的挑戰。
Trump 說道: “我認為美國公開賽台球錦標賽不僅歷史悠久，更享負盛名。台球界中無人不曉這項賽事，是每一個人都渴望能贏得的比賽，而這就是吸引我原因，參加最大並負盛名的賽事，看看我能做些什麼。
我知道自己在斯諾克場上的能力，然而在台球上，我不知道會發生什麼，希望我能有所發揮。我不僅僅是來”參加”美國公開賽，我是為贏得比賽而來。我知道在衝球和策略方面對我是較棘手的，但我將全力以赴並看看自己能做些什麼，而這也是我一直想做的事，那就是看看自己在台球上能有什麼樣的表現。對我而言，在一個全新的球迷群體前打球是有潛力的，有許多人看斯諾看而不看台球，反之亦然。所以我覺得這一切都是為了找到中間立場，讓不同的人對不同的事情感到興趣。美國是個很大的市場，嘗試將斯諾克帶到那裏一直是我的夢想和願望。能在那裏進行任何台球類運動都會是很棒的，希望我能有好表現，並有機會能再次參加比賽，讓我離夢想更近一步。”
Matchroom 常務董事 Emily Frazer 表示: “這對 Matchroom Pool 來說是個大新聞。Judd 是為如此出色的球員，他年輕並具有前瞻性，這正是Matchroom Multi Sport的意義所在，也是我們台球系列賽事的發展方向。讓 Judd 參加美國公開賽對於這項運動的發展、Matchroom Pool 以及他個人職業生涯都是重大且正向利好的消息。”
“美國公開賽對 Judd 來說更是個真正的大好機會，他能踏進台球界，接受新的挑戰，並收穫新領域的球迷。他是目前世上最好、最強的斯諾克選手，這對於我們這項運動的球員以及目前所缺乏的收視率而言，如他此般地位和社會影響力的人進入台球圈是一個大新聞。而看到他對比賽的欣賞、對球員的尊重，以及比賽將所帶來挑戰使他展現他的個性，我迫不及待地想看到台球球迷們對他的熱情!” Frazer 補充說道。