Chigwell-based potter prevails at Alexandra Palace

Judd Trump admitted it was a monkey off his back after recording his first win at the Masters for three years.

The Chigwell-based cueman, who practises at the Grove Academy in Romford, had to hold off a comeback from Stephen Maguire, but eventually prevailed 6-4 at London’s Alexandra Palace.

The victory was revenge for 12 months ago when Trump lost to the Scot at the same stage and he now goes on to face Neil Robertson or Marco Fu in the quarter-finals on Friday afternoon.

Maguire came from 4-1 behind to level proceedings at 4-4 before the 26-year-old Trump made breaks of 60 and 49 to get over the line and he was pleased with the way he closed the deal.

“It’s never nice when someone comes back at you like that,” said Trump. “You’re always looking behind you and it puts you under a lot of pressure when you’ve got such a big lead.

“I managed to get in amongst the balls in the next frame and made a good break which was important. He did some good stuff to get back to 4-4, but in the end I made two pretty good breaks to get over the line.

“It’s a bit of relief to get through after not winning here for a couple of years. It’s such a big tournament and it’s so close to where I live now, just 20 minutes from me.

“It’s very nice to be involved and it’s nice to sit back and watch it on TV still being involved in the tournament come the final weekend.”

Since reaching the final of the Shanghai Masters back in September, Trump has struggled for form somewhat.

He lost 6-4 to Liang Wenbo in the third round of December’s UK Championship, but after knuckling down over the festive period, he is now full of self-belief.

“I always have the belief in myself and Stephen is one of the players I do struggle against, so to get through against such a good player means I will have confidence now,” added Trump.

“There’s no reason why I can’t beat everyone else in this tournament. It’s nice to have a bit of confidence again.

“I’ve got a great record against both Robertson and Fu, so they’ll probably be more scared of me than I will of them.”

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