Judd Trump has revealed that he wants Ronnie O’Sullivan to stick around for as long as possible despite being his biggest rival when it comes to winning titles. Both players will be hoping to claim the £500,000 top prize on offer at the Saudi Arabia Masters, which is taking place this week.
Trump has regularly battled with O’Sullivan over the course of his career, with The Rocket getting the better of him more often than not. He boasts several all-time records and is still hungry for more success as he looks to become the most decorated champion in snooker history.
O’Sullivan recently underlined his desire to achieve further greatness by surpassing Stephen Hendry’s haul of seven world titles, which he equalled two years ago with victory over Trump in the final.
Reflecting on O’Sullivan’s career and what might come next, Trump insisted that he was eager for his rival to keep playing despite knowing he will have a clearer path to titles when the 48-year-old retires.
“I think it’s good for me that he’s still got that fight in him,” said Trump. “I think he’s someone that does like to be the centre of attention.
“I think if I’m someone who’s winning these tournaments as well, he won’t want to step away and let me take all the limelight. If everyone else was nicking one or two tournaments a year he could settle, but no-one’s really making the headlines.”
There has always been plenty of respect between Trump and O’Sullivan in spite of their rivalry at the snooker table. They first met when Trump was a teenager and have faced each other in countless tournaments over the last 18 years.
Last year, O’Sullivan choked up while recalling some kind words from Trump as he revealed they used to practice together in London.
“Me and Judd practised in the same facility and then Judd came down to London when he was about 18/19 [years old], we used to practice in the same sort of place,” he said.
“I think he kind of was watching and learning how I did my practice, what I practised. He even said it to me when he decided to go back up to Bristol. I said: ‘Why are you doing that?’. And he went: ‘I learnt all I needed to learn off you, the job was done’.
“He said: ‘I knew there was nothing left for me to learn, so it’s time for me to go back to my family in Bristol’. You know, that means a lot. I didn’t realise I had that impact on him.”
