Major snooker tournament cancelled as Judd Trump suffers £500,000 blow

 Judd Trump is expected to be overthrown as snooker's top-ranked player due to the axing of a mega-money event in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this year, the World Snooker Tour (WST) confirmed the Saudi Snooker Masters would no longer form part of the calendar. It was only introduced two years ago and carried a maximum prize of £500,000 for the winner.

Trump won the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2024, but the decision to scrap it means he won't get the chance to defend that prize money this year. As a result, he looks set to slide down the world rankings and could lose top spot once the Wuhan Open is concluded in the coming weeks.

Last year's world champion Zhao Xintong and Triple Crown winner Neil Robertson will be hoping to pounce, especially if they perform well at the newly-introduced China Open and again in Wuhan, while Trump fails to deliver.

Trump thrashed Kyren Wilson to win the Shanghai Masters last weekend, but there were no ranking points available because it was an invitiational event.

As a result, the man from Bristol could be powerless to stop Zhao or Robertson from snatching top spot in the rankings over the coming weeks.

Trump has been snooker's highest-ranked player since the summer of 2024 but looks likely to surrender that status after exactly two years at the helm.

Speaking after his victory over Wilson, which landed him a top prize of £210,000, he said: "It was a good win, a tough game compared to the other ones.

"The table played a bit more difficult in the final, and that's why the standard wasn't quite as good. Kyren has beaten me in the last few finals, so it was nice to start the season in that kind of manner and get one over him.

"You want to show that you're still the best in the world and it's important to be winning big events like this. It has been three months since I played anyone. It was a little bit of the unknown.

"It will be tricky with Saudi no longer being on the calendar, which I won two years ago. The points are coming off.

"It'll be an uphill struggle to keep the number one spot but hopefully come the end of the year, in the mid-season, I'll make sure I am back there.

"I love being number one, but if you are going to drop down the rankings a bit, it's always nice to win the Shanghai Masters.

"The last time I won in Shanghai I had a great season after that. And it was important I got off to a great start here."