JUDD TRUMP was dumped out of the World Snooker Championship quarter-finals as his dreams of a semi-final showdown with Ronnie O’Sullivan were crushed.
The Juddernaut, 34, may have won five ranking titles this year and banked more than £1million in prize money.
But that form means nothing in the cauldron of the Crucible and he was eliminated from the tournament 13-9 by an inspired Jak Jones.
Though they were level at 8-8 after the second session on Wednesday evening, Jones won five of the next six frames to book his spot in the last four.
World No.2 Trump, in all fairness, has not played anywhere near the level we have seen from him throughout the campaign.
And qualifier Jones – making just his second appearance at this tournament – will now be involved in the one-table set-up for the first time.
When the draw first came out, with Luca Brecel taking the No.1 spot as defending champion, everyone was eyeing up a potential O’Sullivan v Trump clash
But that will not happen now as Jones, 30, continued his fine form and showcased his excellent ability as a match-player.
Jones finished the match with a break of 106.
He is now aiming to become the third qualifier to lift the World Snooker Championship title come Monday evening.
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Terry Griffiths (1979) and Shaun Murphy (2005) are the only people to become Kings of the Crucible having not been a top-16 seed.
Trump, 34, will down his cue now and probably head off on holidays, maybe joining close pal Jack Lisowski for some partying in Dubai.
His maiden triumph at world level came in 2019.
However, for someone as talented as him, there must be fears about whether he is actually suited to this environment.
