Judd Trump Set-up

[ace man]

Ok, on Dec 22nd I was at exhibition with Selby, Robertson, Murphy and Trump performing. My memory is still fresh.
Naturally, as a snooker geek I took advantage of my first row ticket to examine all four player's technique.
Here's what I noticed about Judd:
His feet are quite wide apart, more so than other 3, and he appears to have least amount of room for the cue movement. Unlike other 3, he does use wrist in his action. He does line up to the right of the cue ball initially, corrects it on final strike.
What about that cue power of his? Well, he did pull a few good screws, but nothing like what can be seen on TV. Why was that the case?
Well, the organizers of exhibition had cueball heavier than other object balls. Cue ball from a different set I was told later. It was very noticeable, all 4 players were very amused by it.

[itsnoteasy]

Unless it's a cue ball from a TC set and the other balls were premiers, it wouldn't make the slightest difference to how they play if it's the odd gram out either way.

[alabadi]

Surely table condition will have a major effect on how much travel can be generated.
The TV cloths are slick and the conditions are optimal.

I doubt a club would have the same conditions

[narl]

Been saying it for ages now the long distance screw shots they can do on tv tables are probably 10x harder on club tables. Club tables simply don't have the type of cloth and conditions for the most part for them to do that type of shot the way they do on a pro setup.

[ace man]

Unless it's a cue ball from a TC set and the other balls were premiers, it wouldn't make the slightest difference to how they play if it's the odd gram out either way.

Not sure what balls were used, but the difference was more than a gram or two for sure. More like a few percent of weight.
Trust me guys when I say this:
Judd puts a big screw on, hits it sweetly, great sound, but...cue ball travels forward(!) about 5cm or so, spins backwards violently, can't get any traction...and only then lazily goes backwards but still gets the distance. It had to be seen to be believed.
Keep in mind that this was in a country with maybe 3 snooker tables altogether, if that. Maybe this was the best equipment they could provide? Most likely that one best table that they had was brought to this concert hall. It was newly recovered with 6811, not sure which type.
Players were having trouble with position play, especially with cannons. For e.g. opening up the pack of reds from 1/2 or 3/4 ball green...they must have missed this or barely clipped the pack 4 times at least. No way a top pro misses a cannon like that many times...i.e. too big of a target. As a result, it was more of a spectacle actually...so many recovery shots and crazy long puts had to be played. Shots that you almost never see, like table length drag shots with loads of side...almost all of them went in!
I think from now on their management will carry their own ball set.

[itsnoteasy]

Probably tournament gold Aceman, that's exactly the same cloth on our table, it's plenty quick enough when new for what they want on an exhibition night,well Steve Davis and Trump said that when they came to ours. If the balls are very different they will react differently when they hit each other, could be why they were having trouble.
It's great to see the pros play isn't it, you realise how poorly you play the game lol, everything is smooth and timed so well. It's great to see them spreading the game.

[itsnoteasy]

Been saying it for ages now the long distance screw shots they can do on tv tables are probably 10x harder on club tables. Club tables simply don't have the type of cloth and conditions for the most part for them to do that type of shot the way they do on a pro setup.

I know he's pretty much an exception but Stephen Lee played on an oldish cloth ( but not a bad one) at our club and was playing all those crazy screw and side shots you see on the internet, but I know he's pretty much an exception where cueing is concerned.

[narl]

I know he's pretty much an exception but Stephen Lee played on an oldish cloth ( but not a bad one) at our club and was playing all those crazy screw and side shots you see on the internet, but I know he's pretty much an exception where cueing is concerned.

Yeah I've seen him doing coaching on some recordings in china and he plays on them pretty much as he did the pro setups in terms of moving the white about. But as you say he's a one off for the most part.

[Ronnington]

Ok, on Dec 22nd I was at exhibition with Selby, Robertson, Murphy and Trump performing. My memory is still fresh.
Naturally, as a snooker geek I took advantage of my first row ticket to examine all four player's technique.
Here's what I noticed about Judd:
His feet are quite wide apart, more so than other 3, and he appears to have least amount of room for the cue movement. Unlike other 3, he does use wrist in his action. He does line up to the right of the cue ball initially, corrects it on final strike.
What about that cue power of his? Well, he did pull a few good screws, but nothing like what can be seen on TV. Why was that the case?
Well, the organizers of exhibition had cueball heavier than other object balls. Cue ball from a different set I was told later. It was very noticeable, all 4 players were very amused by it.

Fascinating stuff that.

Selby, Robertson, Murphy and Trump all deliver exceptional cue power - what differences in technique did you notice between them when watching in the flesh? Very cool experience

[Big Splash!]

Ronnie, trump and robbo all play opposite eye over hand. They have extra cueing room under the chest and everyone knows the best contract point is nipple for smooth, rapid acceleration & power. If you are R eye R hand like many, I suggest you sight the shot as normal but once down, think L eye sighting, place the cue under the left chin so that the cue appears dead straight (use the baukline to practice this), and take the shot with your left eye. You can force the part of your brain that deals with sighting to do this through will power. After a few months it will become a good habit requiring no thought.

You will develop smooth, awesome potting just like Judd. To get your chest into the perfect alignment you may need to alter you stance. For example, I play this shot with more of a hybrid stance. This brings the nipple, L eye and cue into one plane. The hand is close to the hip and everything feels very solid. Also, open your grip our you'll pull the cue off line.

[ace man]

Fascinating stuff that.

Selby, Robertson, Murphy and Trump all deliver exceptional cue power - what differences in technique did you notice between them when watching in the flesh? Very cool experience

Each of them have unique style when it comes to stance, feathering speed, length of back pause, firmness of four point contact...etc.
What they all have in common is that they always deliver true...always finish the stroke properly...not the tiniest of tiny bit of snatch, not the slightest steering, not even a hint of stabbing at the ball...for hours, shot after shot.

IMO Murphy setup would be easiest to follow for aspiring player because he doesn't force particular side of chin and his 4 point contact is very loose.
Robbo and Judd strike the ball just a tiny bit firmer than the other two. And from what I could tell, their object ball is most often right through the middle of the pocket.
Very unsurprising that they are the best long potters.

Of the four, Selby seems to strike the softest and smoothest. I know people say all kinds of things about his technique, but my word when you see it in person you see why it works under pressure. That slow feathering and back pause of his...super slow initial acceleration...it's like he has springs in his arms. I don't know if it's possible to have any more control than that. His object ball has hardly any speed. If he rattles the pocket, the ball usually drops. I suspect that Ronnie does the same thing. Which reminds me...I've got to see Ronnie and John Higgins live too.

[Ronnington]

Each of them have unique style when it comes to stance, feathering speed, length of back pause, firmness of four point contact...etc.
What they all have in common is that they always deliver true...always finish the stroke properly...not the tiniest of tiny bit of snatch, not the slightest steering, not even a hint of stabbing at the ball...for hours, shot after shot.

IMO Murphy setup would be easiest to follow for aspiring player because he doesn't force particular side of chin and his 4 point contact is very loose.
Robbo and Judd strike the ball just a tiny bit firmer than the other two. And from what I could tell, their object ball is most often right through the middle of the pocket.
Very unsurprising that they are the best long potters.

Of the four, Selby seems to strike the softest and smoothest. I know people say all kinds of things about his technique, but my word when you see it in person you see why it works under pressure. That slow feathering and back pause of his...super slow initial acceleration...it's like he has springs in his arms. I don't know if it's possible to have any more control than that. His object ball has hardly any speed. If he rattles the pocket, the ball usually drops. I suspect that Ronnie does the same thing. Which reminds me...I've got to see Ronnie and John Higgins live too.

Fascinating stuff, thanks

[VillaGuy]

This is a nice little video of the top modern players playing shots that test their techniques to the edge, special emphasis is put on Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bb40gC8xo4 Trump keeps his head and body perfectly still even after the OB has been pottered and will only move if the CB is on course to go into his bridge arm or cue.

[Big Splash!]

This is a nice little video of the top modern players playing shots that test their techniques to the edge, special emphasis is put on Trump https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bb40gC8xo4 Trump keeps his head and body perfectly still even after the OB has been pottered and will only move if the CB is on course to go into his bridge arm or cue.

Yeah, smooth acceleration, right through the CB. The last shot reminds me of meself, lol

I think the JT set-up is the best for long potting and power potting and opening the reds off the black. I believe the Ronnie set-up to be the best in the balls.

Now can a player use both set-ups and swap depending on situation? If a pro could, he could unite the two games and be the GOAT.