EXCELLENT Judd Trump was proclaimed as the champion-elect by vanquished Shaun Murphy, who said: You might as well give him the trophy NOW!
The Juddernaut booked himself into the quarter-finals with a 13-10 win over fellow one-time world champion .
It could have been a nervy finale as the Magician, 42, won four frames in a row – he scored 88, 72, 112 and 99 – to close the gap to 12-10.
But , 35, showed his class with a match-winning 58 and underlined why he is the world No.1.
Murphy, the , gushed: “If he’s able to sustain that level of performance, he’ll win the tournament, without question.
“If I were allowed to bet on snooker matches, I’d have as much as I possibly could on Judd Trump.
“If he sustains that, you should give him the trophy now. As it stands, we should probably save ourselves the next seven days’ trouble and give it to Judd.
“No-one in the tournament is playing that well across all facets of the game. He’s showing why he’s world no.1. I think its his time for a second world title.
“He’s the strongest player on the tour. Other players get more headlines but he’s the best player.
“I’ve had to sit there and watch two-and-half sessions of Judd Trump magic. When I got my chance, I felt I shined but didn’t get enough of them.
“Frankly, it’s the best I’ve ever played at the championship and lost. I cannot criticise myself too much. I came up against the best player on the planet.
“It’s frustrating that people seem to keep playing out of their boots against me.”;
Trump, now based in the Middle East, has earned £100,000 for reaching 100 centuries for a single season on Sunday night but he has yet to decide on how he will splash the cash.
He is too good a player not to finish his career with only one world title and he is desperate to be known as a multiple world champion by the time he retires.
, the seven-time Crucible conqueror, feels Trump needs another world crown to be considered one of the greats.
The Scots legend, 56, said: “In my opinion, you’ve got to win here more than once.”;
‘I'M NOT BOTHERED'
Trump does not care what ex-players say about him in the TV booth, especially the ones who stopped playing a long time ago.
He said: “Shaun plays and commentates, too, and so he can understand the level. Some of the older commentators cannot see that anymore.
“I think I’m appreciated now amongst my peers. Some of the other people maybe aren’t with the game as they used to be.
“I’m not bothered what people say – I can put them on mute!
“Anyone who knows anything about the game can appreciate the level that I’m playing at. I’d be disappointed in myself if I never win the worlds again.
“Now it’s the business end of the tournament. You have to conserve energy. It will get tougher. We are not even halfway through yet.
“I wish it was easy – you can give me the trophy if you want! Every day is so different at the Crucible. I’m not getting carried away.”;
