Judd Trump miffed by Ronnie O'Sullivan 147 handshake snub at Champion of Champions but Rocket defends himself

Updated 08/11/2022 at 09:54 GMT

Judd Trump said it would have been "nice to get his seal of approval" when opening up about Ronnie O'Sullivan's decision to not shake his hand after his brilliant 147 in the Champion of Champions final. Trump took the acclaim of a raucous Bolton crowd after his clearance, but O'Sullivan remained rooted to his chair. The snooker great later said: "I don't care what anyone thinks of me".

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Judd Trump admitted to feeling dismayed that Ronnie O'Sullivan did not shake his hand after compiling a sparkling 147 break during the Champion of Champions final in Bolton.

Trump was trailing 6-1 at the time and looking down and out of the contest, but knocked in a remarkable clearance that had a thronging crowd on their feet.

A handshake from the opposing player after a maximum is typically customary, but there was no sense of joining in the celebrations from O'Sullivan, who remained sat in his chair as Trump took the acclaim.

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Trump, who eventually lost the final 10-6, said: "You celebrate making the 147, turn around and put your cue down — and I kind of expected Ronnie to get up and say well done.

"That is just the normal thing to do. It is a special feat for anyone and it would have been nice to get his seal of approval.

"At that point in the final, when he was still 6-2 up, he knows if he plays half-decent he is going to win. He is too good not to.

"So you would have expected him to be relaxed enough to say good things, especially after what happened at the World Championships final [where Trump gave O'Sullivan a long embrace for winning]."

O'Sullivan was also asked about the incident afterwards, and commented that he "didn't care" what people might have thought of the snub.

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"It's brilliant Judd made the 147, but we still had a match to play as far as I was concerned," O'Sullivan said.

"People have got their opinions and I don't care what anyone thinks of me or what I do or don't do."

There were split reactions from fellow snooker legends Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams, with the former clear that he had expected a handshake, while Williams defended O'Sullivan, adding that referee Marcel Eckardt didn't shake Trump's hand either.

Hendry said: "Look, no one took more displeasure in their opponents doing things well against them more than me.

"But shake the guy's hand. He has made a 147, it's in the final and you are 6-1 up. Shake the guy's hand. It was incredible."

Williams, responding to Mark Allen - another to criticise O'Sullivan - said on Twitter: "U should tag the ref in he didn't bother either.

"Like putting your hand up when u fluke, why your not sorry get on with it."

Trump and O'Sullivan could meet again at next week's UK Championship.

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