WORLD number two Judd Trump believes he is playing better snooker than any of his rivals heading into the Masters.
The ‘Juddernaut’ lost his place at the top of the rankings following a shock first round exit to Mark Joyce at the UK Championship last month, but had been in stunning form prior to that.
And the 2011 World Championship runner-up is now preparing to add the Masters title to his UK Championship victory of 13 months ago.
He faces Barry Hawkins in the first round at London’s Alexandra Palace on Tuesday.
“I was provisionally number one in the rankings so it has been an excellent season,” said the 23-year-old.
“I still feel like I am probably playing the best out of anyone at the moment, but I just need to produce it on the big stage again.
“I haven’t played in every event this season so hopefully going into the second half of the season I will be a little bit fresher than some of the people that have played in every event. I have consciously made that decision to try and stay fresh.
“The Masters and the Worlds are the two biggest. I think if I won the Masters I would put it higher than the UK because it is literally the best 16 players at this time, and I like the atmosphere there.”
British Eurosport is the Home of Snooker, showing 19 tournaments this season including the World Championship, UK Championship, the Masters and all ranking events, available on Sky (410/411) and Virgin Media (521/525) or online/on mobile via eurosportplayer.co.uk