Judd Trump calls for change after ‘boring’ British Open incident

Judd Trump wants to see technology used in snooker to prevent a repeat of the ‘boring’ incident in his 4-2 British Open win over Dylan Emery on Monday.

The 37-year-old was 3-2 ahead in Cheltenham, recovering from a blistering start from Emery which saw the Welshman knock in back-to-back centuries.

Things were anything but blistering in the sixth frame, though, as Emery twice attempted a safety shot on a cluster of reds and twice hit the pink, moving some reds in the process.

Replacing the balls proved to be a complicated process and the efforts of the referee, Proletina Velichkova, and marker, Terry Camilleri, took over 12 minutes as the players also tried to help out.

We have seen technology used at events in China which is a much smoother process, showing where the balls should be replaced thanks to an overhead camera.

It is a more expensive way of doing things, but Trump feels the technology should be used to prevent the tedious spectacle on Monday.

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‘It was boring. It was way too long,’ he told Metro. ‘That shouldn’t still be the case in this day and age with all the different technology.

‘I think it was 12 minutes or so. It was ages out there. It was boring enough for me and him, let alone the crowd and other people.

‘It was way too long. I think it’s no one in particular’s fault, I just think the technology isn’t good enough. It’s as simple as that, really. I think when you’re looking at the screen, it’s so minute, the detail.

‘But I think the technology they use in China, where they’ve got a circle around the ball and it flashes when it’s correct. I have no idea why they don’t use it here.

‘They have the technology in clubs there and I’ve used it before in Hong Kong where the camera counts the score and stuff like that. I don’t know why they don’t use it here.’

A notable difference between many Chinese and UK events is also how tight the pockets play.

There were plenty of examples of shots played in Cheltenham on Monday that did not go in, which would have dropped in tournaments earlier this season in China.

Trump says the pockets have tightened up in the Chinese events, but still not to the size they were playing on Monday.

‘The pockets are a lot tighter, but I think that’s partly to do with the cushions being so bouncy and the table heavy,’ he said. ‘They’re a lot smaller than they are in China, so it’s a lot easier to miss. It makes it a lot better, I think.