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maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 8 MAY 2019 21 SPORTS SNOOKER Judd Trump begins 'new era of dominance' after stunning victory JUDD Trump's maiden world title triumph could herald a new "era of dominance from one player", says seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry. Trump, 29, dismantled John Higgins 18-9 in a breathtak- ing final to claim the World Championship for the first time. Five-time world cham- pion Ronnie O'Sullivan says Trump's performance has tak- en the sport "to another level". And Trump, long touted as a world champion, said it was a relief to finally have "a dream come true". A sensational final featured 24 breaks of 50 or more from 27 frames, including a record 11 centuries. Bristol's Trump won the Masters in January by thrash- ing Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final and adding that to this world title and his 2011 UK Championship triumph means he becomes only the 11th player to complete the Triple Crown. Hendry told BBC Sport: "His all-round game is incredible. He has dominated John Hig- gins in every department and John is someone who goes down in history as one of the best all-round players in the game. "He did the same to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Masters fi- nal and it shows that we could be in for an era of dominance from one player. "He went public saying he has dedicated his life to winning tournaments. He has not done that in the past and now he is doing that he is reaping the benefits. "I certainly have not seen anything like that standard in a final, it was incredible. The scoring was phenomenal. Every time a player got an opportuni- ty they cleared up in one visit. "Judd's performance in the final has been one of the most dominant I have ever seen." Victory at the Crucible Thea- tre means Trump moves up to second in the world rankings behind leader O'Sullivan. Steve Davis won six world ti- tles in the 1980s, Scot Hendry went one better during the 90s, while O'Sullivan has won five since the turn of the century. "It's just a matter of how many he can get now he's got that monkey off his back," O'Sullivan, who suffered a shock first-round defeat against amateur James Cahill, told Eurosport. "It's not easy to win the world title, 17 days is different to any other tournament. He's worked hard, got the right peo- ple around him, he's focussed on what he needs to do and that's the difference. You need to have everything in place to become the ultimate player. Judd Trump