Judd Trump has won the 2024 Shanghai Masters after a dominant 11-5 victory over Shaun Murphy in Sunday’s final.
Three times a runner-up in the event when it was previously staged as a ranking tournament, Trump finally emerged triumphantly in the famous Chinese city.
The outcome of the showdown for glory was rarely in doubt after the 34 year-old established an early 2-0 advantage.
Subsequent contributions of 122 and 100 – the latter break representing his record ninth century of the tournament – helped him on his way to a 7-1 lead.
Murphy had chances throughout the contest but was unable to match the mesmerising level that he produced in his semi-final against Mark Selby.
There were brief moments of hope, notably at the end of the first session when he won the last two frames with runs of 56 and 132.
The Magician, who was previously a runner-up to Ronnie O’Sullivan in 2019, then had several chances to reduce the gap further at the start of the evening bout of play.
But he couldn’t get properly in among the balls and Trump duly took advantage, orchestrating successive tallies of 61, 86, and a magnificent 114 to move to within the brink of success.
A brave brace of tons from Murphy delayed the inevitable, but it was a case of too little too late.
Trump needed a few bites at the cherry but managed to complete the six-frame victory in the 16th frame.
The world number two pockets a whopping £210,000 – prize money that won’t count towards the ranking list but still represents one of the biggest cheques on the annual schedule.
The Bristol potter enjoyed a prolific 2023/24 campaign in which he captured five ranking titles.
Ending the season with a disappointing defeat to Jak Jones at the World Championship was a stain on his recent record.
But it hasn’t taken long for Trump to get back among the winners’ circle, landing the biggest piece of silverware of the new term so far.
It wasn’t the end to the 2024 Shanghai Masters that Murphy was hoping for, the 41 year-old unable to find his confident stride when it mattered the most.
Yet it was still a positive week for Murphy, who didn’t enjoy a particularly good last campaign and will be happy to be back mixing it again at the business end of events.
Judd Trump, though, is relentless in his pursuit of silverware, and when he is producing his best form he is incredibly difficult to stop.
The 2019 world champion has proven in the past that he can establish momentum by winning several titles in quick succession.
Trump will be keen on carrying this week’s standard forward, especially with lucrative ranking events in China and Saudi Arabia on the calendar towards the end of next month.
2024 Shanghai Masters draw
Round 1 (bo11)
Zhang Anda 3-6 Zhou Jinhao
Ali Carter 6-0 Qiu Lei
Tom Ford 3-6 Si Jiahui
Mark Williams 6-3 Wang Xinbo
Gary Wilson 5-6 Pang Junxu
Jak Jones 2-6 Cao Jin
John Higgins 6-1 Lyu Haotian
Barry Hawkins 4-6 Zhou Yuelong
Round 2 (bo11)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-1 Zhou Jinhao
Ding Junhui 6-5 Ali Carter
Luca Brecel 2-6 Si Jiahui
Judd Trump 6-2 Mark Williams
Mark Allen 5-6 Pang Junxu
Mark Selby 6-1 Cao Jin
Shaun Murphy 6-3 John Higgins
Kyren Wilson 0-6 Zhou Yuelong
Quarter-Finals (bo11)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 6-3 Ding Junhui
Si Jiahui 2-6 Judd Trump
Pang Junxu 3-6 Mark Selby
Shaun Murphy 6-2 Zhou Yuelong
Semi-Finals (bo19)
Ronnie O’Sullivan 3-10 Judd Trump
Mark Selby 8-10 Shaun Murphy
Final (bo21)
Judd Trump 11-5 Shaun Murphy
Featured photo credit: WST
