Judd Trump has vowed to put his former playboy lifestyle firmly behind him as he seeks to cash in on his spectacular first world snooker title at The Crucible on Monday.
The 29-year-old beat four-time champion John Higgins 18-9 with a display to evoke comparisons with some of the game's all-time greats, prompting World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn to suggest Trump could be the first player to earn over £50million.
Trump was fixated with Ferraris and Louboutin shoes when he made his first final against Higgins in 2011, going as far as to call himself an "international playboi [sic]" on his official Twitter account.
The first player in snooker history to win £1m in a season 👊 #ilovesnooker @Betfred pic.twitter.com/QLwACaiFrZ — World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) May 6, 2019
But after completing his brilliant victory over Higgins to finally make good on almost two decades of outrageous promise, Trump acknowledged a new and more mature attitude to his sport has made the difference.
Trump said: "I still like a party now and again but this season I have certainly gone out a lot less and I have doubled my hours on the practice table.
"I have always wanted to live my life as well as play snooker. Some of the players in the past did it the other way round – got their snooker out of the way and then lived afterwards.
Unbelievable stuff, @judd147t! 👏 ✔️ Maiden world title✔️ 21st Crucible champ✔️ 11th player to complete Triple Crown✔️ 1st player since '03 to win Masters & World in same season✔️ Record number of tons in a match equalled✔️ Season total: £1,098,400#ilovesnooker @Betfred pic.twitter.com/x6Yk743ZAI — World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) May 6, 2019
"You don't want to cut something out of your life, and this year I have managed to get the right amount of both. I have no regrets. But this season I have given it my ultimate shot and it has really paid off."
The manner of Trump's record-setting comparisons, allied with the recent memory of his Masters final demolition of Ronnie O'Sullivan, suggests Trump is in a good position to make that belated move into the snooker stratosphere.
His Crucible win made him the first snooker player to earn over £1million in prize money in a single season, and Hearn believes he could become the sport's next significant poster boy.
Hearn said: "Judd is making himself more of a personality but to do that and be taken seriously you also have to be a winner and I think winning this is going to mean a monumental changing of the guard.
"Whereas I would tell other players that winning the World Championship could be worth £10m in your career, in Trump's case that could be £50m or more because he has the personality.
"There's only one Judd Trump. If he can continue creating demand from his performances on the table and his personality off the table, it's a winning formula that could make him the richest player snooker has ever seen."
Hearn, who inevitably likened Trump to a snooker equivalent of Anthony Joshua, acknowledged the increasingly busy calendar will make it tough for the new champion to dominate the sport in the same manner as some of the great champions who have gone before.
While Trump maintained his first world title will only increase his desire to win more, he will be far from focused on the multiple title records held by the likes of Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan.
"I don't think it's possible [to dominate] any more," added Trump. "If I can somehow play as I did in the final in every single game, then I could get close.
"Hopefully I can be a multiple world champion, but the standard is always so tough. There are some great champions who have only won it once, and for me to win it for the first time will always be special."
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