Northern Ireland Open: '90% of them look more scruffy' – Judd Trump on key lessons snooker can learn from pool

Updated 13/10/2021 at 17:04 GMT

Judd Trump returned to the snooker table after playing pool in the US last month with a 4-1 win over Welshman Andrew Pagett in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast helped by breaks of 50, 65 and 79. Trump meets Gao Yang in the last 64 on Tuesday afternoon as he chases a record fourth straight NI title, but admits he would like to challenge for pool trophies in the future.

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There is nothing quite like a refreshing dip in the pool to focus the mind.

Judd Trump admits his experience in competing at the US Open nine-ball pool tournament in Atlantic City last month has given him a few ideas about what snooker can learn from the smaller blue baize.

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The 22-times ranking event winner – who began his quest for a fourth straight Northern Ireland Open title with a 4-1 win over world number 99 Andrew Pagett boosted by breaks of 50, 65 and 79 – believes the World Snooker Tour would benefit from the pool vibe.

"It was a bit more relaxed," said Trump. "There was a bit of music and chit-chat going on rather than the crowd sitting in silence for three hours.

"People were able to sit at the side of the table, have a drink and chat to your friend rather than sitting in silence and getting told off every now and again.

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"That is something I think could work for maybe the early stages of some snooker tournaments. Just to get bigger crowds in.

Not quite the darts when they are singing stupid songs with no relevance to the darts, but people being able to wander around freely just enjoying themselves.

Two-times world champion Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins famously avoided wearing a bow tie to play snooker on medical grounds, but Trump believes the vast majority of the World Snooker Tour do not enjoy being forced to compete with strain around the neck.

"When you are walking around with a sports shirt, trousers and shoes, it is a lot more comfortable," Trump tells Eurosport.

"You'd never walk around a hotel with a waistcoat and bow tie. I'd look like an idiot. People don't wear that any more unless they are at a wedding,

"You feel a lot more freer. It still looks smart, but is a lot more appropriate for what we are doing.

"A lot of the players are moving the bow tie to the side or have the top button undone. There are very few people that look smart in it because it does get in the way.

They are telling the players to wear them to look smart, but 90% of them look more scruffy than they would if they had a t-shirt on. It defeats the object of what they are trying to do.

"If you want to be a classed as sport you have to move with the times. A nice polo shirt is the way to go to take the game forward."

Trump feels snooker only needs to look at Ryder Cup golf with the US team appearing in hoodies at Whistling Straits during the sport's biggest team event.

"Look at the sponsorship and promotion that has taken golf to a new level with millions of pounds of investment," said Trump, who will reclaim the world number one spot after the Belfast event. "Once upon the time, they used to wear socks pulled up to their knees in the '70s and '80s and everything tucked under the jumper.

"If snooker wants to propel itself to the next level, the dress code needs to be looked at."

Trump won three matches in his first experience of competitive pool, but lost to 2017 US Open champion Jayson Shaw of Scotland 11-1 and 11-10 to Jason Theron of South Africa to exit before the last-16 stage.

It was a real learning experience that Trump would like to be better prepared for next time.

"With the time off, I didn't want to sit at home. It was good to get out there to try and promote myself in America and see what it was about," he said.

"I'll probably do it again in future if I get time off between tournaments. I'd want to go over there thinking I could win it next time and maybe put in six months or a year's practise to be ready for it.

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"It is not fun just to take part, but I think pool will take off in the future. It is something I'd rather do than wasting time sitting watching TV if I have some spare time."

"It is a lot more difficult than people think watching on the TV..there is a lot more skill to it," explains Trump.

"It is completely different to snooker. Your aim in pool is not to snooker because they'll just jump over the balls and pot it.

"You've got to leave the balls in different positions to give you a natural advantage and at the moment my brain is not quite wired right.

It'll take time to understand where is the right place to leave balls. The pockets are also not as big as I remember them as a kid. They're a lot smaller now and you have to be a lot more accurate.

"The best pool players are at the top of the game for a reason. In pool, you are always playing on one ball while in snooker you are just playing in areas to give you options on the reds.

"You have to be a lot more precise with the positional shots."

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Northern Ireland Open