Snooker star Judd Trump was on the receiving end of a hammering after crossing the pond to test his mettle against the world’s best pool players.
The second-ranked player in the world is participating in the US Open Pool Championship. He had beaten his first three opponents and enjoyed a strong start to the tournament.
After a victory of 9-0 over American Joe Magee, he beat Dhruvalkumar Patel from India 9-2 to set up a match with Abdullah Al-Shammari.
To avoid being tied back at 4-4, he took advantage of his opponent’s missed nine-ball and advanced to a meeting in the Brit Jayson Shaw.
But his compatriot proved to be a far sterner test, as the Scottish pool star – a former winner of the tournament in 2017 – raced into a 9-0 lead.
To the delight of Harrah’s Resort’s watching crowd, Trump won the 10th frame. However, Shaw, the world number three, regained control of the game and won the final two frames to win a comprehensive 11-1 victory.
Double elimination rules mean that the tournament for the 2019 world champion in snooker is still open.
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Trump’s match with Shaw was in the winners’ third round, and the snooker star now drops into the losers’ side of the draw.
Today, Trump will be facing South African Jason Theron in another first-to-11 match. He hopes to continue his participation in two matches by winning in the sixth or seventh rounds of today’s losers draw. This will give him a chance to qualify for the last 16 of the tournament.
Trump stated that he wasn’t just there to fill the numbers, but was actually aiming for an unlikely victory in Atlantic City when he announced his participation in the US Open.
“For the US Open, I’m not just going to take part. It will be to try and win the event. I will give it my absolute all and to see what I can do with myself,” He stated.