‘Doing it on purpose’ – Judd Trump calls for fan to be ejected over disruptive act during UK championship match

Judd Trump believes a fan was deliberately sneezing during his 2025 UK Championship win against Stephen Maguire.

World no. 1 Trump won 6-4 in their first round match on Saturday at York Barbican to book his place in the last 16.

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However, the reigning champion needed to overcome an unwelcome distraction during the seventh frame of the match.

When trailing 1-34, Trump was lining up his shot when a member of the audience let out a loud sneeze.

The 36-year-old, along with the referee and other spectators, showed their frustration with the interference.

“It’s not funny, he needs to go,” Trump said.

The referee concurred and added: “I think that’s on purpose. They’ll try to remove that person now.”

What did Trump say about the sneeze?

Reflecting on the incident with TNT Sports afterwards, Trump said: “He’s doing it on purpose.

“It’s not hard to sneeze silently or quietly, you don’t have to let it out as loud as you possibly can.”

Luckily for Trump, the distraction didn’t steer him too far off course.

The 2025/26 season has been tough for the 30-time ranking title winner as he is yet to win a tournament.

Trump came closest to silverware at the Northern Ireland Open last month, but lost in the final to Jack Lisowski.

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However, he has kept a positive outlook on the year and hinted that he is one of snooker’s most in-form players.

“It has been a decent year, a solid six or seven out of ten with a lot of positives,” he said via the BBC.

“I reached the semi-finals of the Masters, the semi-finals of the Worlds, reached four finals.

“On that basis you could say I’m one of the in-form players of the year.

“Even if I won here, it would not be a good year compared to other seasons – unless I win seven events in a season then it won’t do anything for me.

“So much is expected of me, if I don’t win straight away there’s more pressure and you don’t have that time when you’re at the top.

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“Having so many good years in a row, it brings you back down to earth and you just have to work harder.

“I still really want to win every event and I’m not miles away.”

Trump will face Si Jiahui in the last 16 as he eyes his third title at the UK Championship.