Maximum man Judd Trump claims inaugural Turkish Masters crown

Judd Trump compiled a majestic maximum break on the way to capturing the inaugural Turkish Masters title with a 10-4 victory over Matthew Selt in the final.

The Ace, who was runner-up to Joe Perry at the Welsh Open last week, had waited just over a year for ranking event silverware; his most recent such triumph coming at the 2021 Gibraltar Open.

But he ended his drought in style in Nirvana on Sunday; defeating his good friend to take his career total to 23, and pocketing the top prize of £100,000

The highlight of his commanding win came in frame 10 when he delighted the Nirvana Cosmopolitan Hotel crowd by recording his sixth 147 – becoming only the seventh player to reach that tally – and the 173rd in snooker history.

Trump told Eurosport: “This season, I’ve been struggling quite badly, so last week was a bit of a confident booster getting to the [Welsh Open] final. To come here, first time in Turkey – the support’s been incredible – this is a special one.

“I just haven’t played good enough. I scraped through quite a few games and then it was nip and tuck with Matt. I know Matt missed a few tonight, but it was nice to finally play well.

“Matt’s now starting to shine on the TV table. I owe him a lot. At the start of my career, he was the person that told me to go down to Essex, and that’s where my career really took off.

“I don’t think I’ve ever made [a maximum break] in a final before. It’s normally in the first round or when nobody’s there, so to do it in front of this audience – it could be my most special one.

“It would be nice to have a few more tournaments where there’s a beach. It’s been a fantastic first event; the hospitality’s been amazing and a special shout out to the crowd.”

Trump had lost his most recent meeting with Selt, who prevailed 6-3 when they locked horns at the UK Championship in November.

The former Indian Open champion, who overcame a resurgent Ding Junhui in a deciding frame in the semi-finals, was appearing in the second ranking final of his career.

And despite Trump recovering from 61-0 down to only trail by 10 points, he took the opener on the pink.

The world number 31 edged his nose back in front after his opponent responded with 61, but a brilliant break of 120 saw the Bristolian level once more.

The world number three took control after the mid-session interval; a couple of runs of 56 helping him win three of the next four frames for a 5-3 advantage heading into the evening.

Despite losing 60 points in fouls, Trump recovered with an 88 clearance to snatch the second-highest scoring frame in snooker history by a remarkable 113 points to 76.

He then lifted the roof off the Nirvana Cosmopolitan Hotel with that magical maximum – the first on the tour since Gary Wilson’s effort against Ian Burns at the York Barbican four months ago.

Further runs of 73 and 82 put him on the brink of victory, which he secured with a sublime clearance of 114.

“This afternoon could have been oh-so different,” Selt added. “If things had been different, it would have been more of a game this evening.

“But I didn’t put Judd under any pressure tonight, and he played phenomenal.

“The fans have been great. Hopefully next year when we come back, the crowd will be just as good then.”