Judd Trump hailed his incredible 10-9 victory over Mark Williams in the inaugural Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters as one of the best wins of his career.
The Englishman looked set to miss out on the £500,000 first prize in Riyadh when Williams went on a break of 62 in the decider only to miss a mid-range red, allowing Trump to step in with a brilliant 72.
With his victory, Trump scooped the fifth major title of his career and 29th ranking event win, moving him beyond 28 and the legendary Steve Davis into fourth outright on the all-time list – behind only Ronnie O’Sullivan (41), Stephen Hendry (36), and John Higgins (31).
“To pull off that clearance at the end under that pressure like that; it means this certainly ranks up there with the best wins of my career – it’s in the top two or three,” said the 35-year-old, who was checking flights home at 4-0 down to Wu Yize in his first match of the tournament but has now won 15 of the 16 he has played this season.
“It’s such a great feeling and there was so much elation and disbelief when that black went in. I’m in shock at the moment – but it’s been a life-changing week and I’m delighted to get the win.
“I struggled, Mark was much the better player. He was making breaks although the table was playing tricky. I don’t deserve to win. It’s not going to mean anything to him, but he was the better player – I just found something at the end.
“This is so special to win. I stopped breathing for the last five minutes of that frame but I managed to get over the line.”
Trump led a low-scoring affair 4-1 before Williams reduced his deficit in style with back-to-back breaks of 121 and 132, although world No 1 Trump took a tense final frame of the session to lead 5-3.
Williams continued to score more heavily in the evening session and breaks of 101, 77 and a total clearance of 138 took him 9-8 in front, only for Trump to respond with a break of 90 – his highest of the match – to force a dramatic decider.
“It’s a match I always look forward to when I’m playing Mark,” added Trump, who won the World Championship in 2019. “It’s a privilege to be playing in this era of snooker against players like him. I’ve never seen anybody pot long shots from that distance like he did tonight.”
His 49-year-old Welsh opponent was gracious in defeat. “It was a fantastic game,” said Williams, who is a three-time world champion. “We didn’t play really well, to be honest, from the start, but towards the end it was really good.
“I nearly had a good break in the last, it was a red I fancied getting on 62 but it wasn’t as if I twitched or anything. I hit it good and thought it was in but just shows what a champ he is, what a break he’s made in the last frame there.
“For half a million quid, 62 behind, two reds safe – what can you say? Congratulations to him.”
The tournament had total prize money of £2.3 million while Saturday's final was the most lucrative match in snooker outside of the World Championship. “Down the line if it keeps on improving, this is going to be one of the real special tournaments,” added Trump.
