The emotional story behind the Trump versus Lisowski Northern Ireland Open final

Emotions will run high at the Waterfront Hall on Sunday when Judd Trump and Jack Lisowski meet in the final of the Northern Ireland Open.

The pair are close friends who have known each other for 25 years since they first met on the junior circuit and grew up in snooker together.

Trump has reached the pinnacle: current world number one, former world champion and seeking his 31st ranking title in Belfast on Sunday, in his 50th final.

Lisowski has yet to reach those heights and will be playing in his seventh ranking final as he continues his quest for a maiden title.

This is Jackpot’s first final since March 2021, after he suffered a dip in form and suffered a personal tragedy this year when his father died in March.

Snooker has been tough for the 34-year-old since the unexpected loss, but this week in Northern Ireland he has rediscovered some of his best, partly with the help of coach Chris Henry.

Earlier in the tournament he told TNT Sports: ‘I think it will come back. I’ve probably lost the battle a bit, but it’s coming back and I’m feeling stronger and starting to enjoy my snooker a bit more.”

He added: “It’s up and down. It feels different now. The first few months I didn’t argue much, but now I can just play and I don’t feel like crying when I play.

‘I played in the World Cup a month after my father died, and I felt so emotional with every frame. I wish I had had more time off. But I continued, of course it doesn’t get easier, but you just get used to it.

“I don’t think about it so much when I’m there now and it was a great win today.”

Trump is looking for his first title of 2025, having suffered something of a trophy drought due to his incredibly high standards.

But even a ruthless winner like the world number one admits that it will be difficult to hand defeat to a close friend who is looking for his first victory and so soon after the loss of his father.

Three of Lisowski’s previous six ranking finals have ended in defeat to Trump, but the Ace believes this weekend is a different situation.

“It’s a little bit different to the rest of the finals because of what’s happened over the last six or eight months,” he said. “It’s incredibly difficult to play him at the best of times, but to also have that in the back of my mind, with what it would mean for him and the timing of it.

‘It’s not easy. It won’t be easy to play against him. Either way, I win and I’m hated, or he wins and I’m very happy for him.

“If I lose, I’ll be so happy for him, but I’ll give 100 percent and see what happens.”

No doubt Trump will do his best to pot the balls, but it is a unique situation where he is comfortable with victory or defeat.

“Yeah, I don’t care either way,” he told WST. “If he wins, I’m happy for him, if I win, I’m happy. It’s hard to play against your friend, but it’s so good to see him in the final again.’

The 36-year-old added about Lisowski’s superb but unpredictable quality: ‘He is too good to spend four years without reaching a final, we all know that.

‘If he keeps his heads together and gets the right people behind him, he will be a tournament winner. Even though we haven’t seen it yet. He’s put himself in a position where, eight months after what happened, he’s managed to pull himself together and showed a lot of fight and a different style of play this week. I’ve seen some of his play before and his safety was much better than normal.

“He does things his own way and if it happens to him, I think everyone will be happy for him.

Whatever happens, it will be a great final. I think it’s great to be in the final with Jack, it’s really a dream come true, so it’s nice to be in a final together again, also in this atmosphere, it’s great for him to experience.’

After beating Zhou Yuelong 6-1 in the first semi-final, Lisowski said: “I am full of confidence. My game is going in the right direction, which gives some relief because I’ve had a few quiet seasons in terms of results. I had some really good matches, but I just couldn’t string a series together.

‘It’s nice to do that for the last time this week, but of course it’s all about tomorrow now.’

The match will be played over a best-of-17 frames at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Sunday at 1pm and 7pm, with the winner claiming the top prize of £100,000.

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