Trump confident ahead of Masters

Judd Trump is optimistic his safety-second approach can continue to pay rich dividends as he heads to the BGC Masters at Alexandra Palace.

The UK champion and World Championship runner-up has earned over £400,000stg in the past year after finally delivering on the potential which was obvious from his early teenage years.

Success has emboldened the 22-year-old Bristolian, taking him to fifth in the world rankings, and he is arguably the player to beat in London over the coming week, with the tournament getting under way later today.

Trump starts against Stuart Bingham, the world number 14, on Monday lunchtime, and heads into the event plotting another swashbuckling show.

He has developed a happy knack of winning frames at one visit, so playing a guarded game has not been his style.

"I'm getting a lot of chances and taking them but there will be a time when safety play has to come in," Trump said.

"Of the competitions I've played in, I'm doing well or winning 50% at the moment and that brings a lot of confidence and I'm taking more shots on.

"My game has improved by 50% since this time last year and the confidence I've got is the main part of that."

Trump admits he "lacked that killer edge" in front of the television cameras during the early years of his career, which delayed his transition from bright prospect to the champion he was always expected to become.

He has made only one prior appearance at the Masters, which moves from its traditional Wembley home this year, and it was a fleeting visit, losing in the wild-card round to Mark Allen in 2009.

It was Allen that Trump beat in York last month to land the UK Championship title and a £100,000stg cheque.

Now he is aiming for Masters glory, and the £150,000stg top prize, and said: "I'm looking to go a long way in the tournament and get back the buzz that I had at the UK. Being in a big final is completely different to any other match, it's just a great feeling and brilliant atmosphere."

Ronnie O'Sullivan made his Masters debut in 1994 and was crushed by Dennis Taylor in their wild-card match, but since then the 36-year-old has triumphed four times and finished runner-up on five occasions.

He is clinging to his top-16 place and risks having to qualify for the World Championship if he loses early in the upcoming German Masters and Welsh Open, but there is no ranking-point pressure on O'Sullivan, who faces Ding Junhui today, at Alexandra Palace.

The BGC Masters, as an invitational event, carries no points, so O'Sullivan can play his natural game, and hopes to be in the right frame of mind.

"If I can find some more passion maybe I can win some more tournaments," O'Sullivan said at a recent press conference in Bulgaria. "If not, then we'll just have to wait and see.

"I wish I could be a bit more predictable, I probably would have won a bit more.

"Maybe I have underachieved but I think I've still done quite well for someone who's underachieved."

Today also sees two-time Masters champion Mark Williams begin his campaign, when the Welshman faces Scotland's Stephen Maguire.

World champion John Higgins must wait until Tuesday for his opener, against Matthew Stevens.

Higgins is ranked number three despite landing the Crucible title, having made a slow start to this season.

But he tends to raise his performances on the big stage, and the 36-year-old Scot concedes the rankings are not a priority at this stage of his career.

According to Higgins, climbing to number one is a young man's game, considering the number of tournaments which are being added to the calendar.

"I think now, with the way the tour is going to go, you're going to have to play near enough every event to keep your ranking up there," Higgins said.

"It doesn't mean the same in my eyes as it did maybe a few years ago when everyone was playing in the same amount of events.

"There's going to be lots of events in the next couple of years that I'm not going to enter, and you could say that about some of the other top players with families and commitments.

"It's all geared towards the younger players coming in and making a mark."