2020 Players Championship

[Odrl]

He may not be the most naturally gifted player on the circuit

I wonder why you think that... His achievements as a teenager are better than anyone else's in recent history, arguably by quite a margin, which would surely suggest he is incredibly talented, wouldn't it? I don't think the fact that someone plays a measured, "non-flashy" type of game at a young age implies a lack of talent. If anything, I think it's the opposite. Players like Zhao Xintong, who may look more impressive at first glance but don't play as efficiently, will have to work that much harder on their game to close that gap. :smile:

But anyway, could be a tough game for Yan today, because Trump just has that winning mentality at the moment and rarely puts in anything other than a strong performance over two sessions. Yan needs to get involved in the match right from the start and not let it go in the direction of the European Masters or the Welsh Open final. :smile:

[PatBlock]

I wonder why you think that...

He is certainly a very talented young man, that's obvious of course, we wouldn't be watching him on TV otherwise but even at this level, you can see that the game comes easier to some than others and I get the impression from watching him that his talent to work ratio bar is shifted slightly towards the work side. Difficult thing to quantify though. :smile:

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[Odrl]

Well, he certainly seems like a hard-working young man. Murphy said as much in his post-match comments yesterday, saying how Yan practised all through the Welsh Open final after losing to him in the semis. :smile:

[PatBlock]

Exactly.

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[Billy]

What did Jud do just then when he came to the table? He bent down near the yellow pocket, to sight a pot up presumably, but then reached out briefly with his hand, to somewhere under the table, just below the yellow pocket.

[Odrl]

Nowhere near a midnight finish tonight, but I kind of expected that... Yan losing that opening frame from well ahead set the tone for the rest of the match, although, to his credit, he did get back into it at 6-4, only for Trump to then raise his game and run away with it.

That's the thing with Trump at the moment, even when not playing at his full potential, he seems to be out of reach for anyone other than Neil Robertson over two sessions. It's very much reminiscent of Selby's purple patch in the 2016-2018 period, and surely a great sign for him ahead of the World Championship. :smile:

[PatBlock]

What a confident performance from Judd, never really looked under threat throughout. He's going to take some beating in the worlds, you'd think.

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[warren132]

Will the crucible curse strike again and stop a first time winner comming back and defend the title the next year ?

[DeanH]

Will the crucible curse strike again and stop a first time winner comming back and defend the title the next year ?

we were talking about that last night
Will Trump be the first to break the curse?