Former world snooker champion calls for Judd Trump to 'remove curse' he's put on him

Neil Robertson has accused rival Judd Trump of placing a curse on him as he continues to struggle for wins and face near misses with the UK Championship around the corner

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Neil Robertson has asked rival Judd Trump to "remove the curse" he believes has been placed upon him.

The Australian beat Trump 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Champion of Champions last week. Since then though Robertson has found wins hard to come by and has avoided some serious scares after Trump declared he was an unlucky loser.

He said after being edged out by the 2010 World champion: "I thought I was very unlucky. To be honest I think Neil knows that he didn’t deserve to win like that, but that happens. He put in a good spell to go 3-1 up, then after that he had quite a few chances, missed quite a few long balls and got safe every time. It’s just one of those days."

After beating Trump Robertson lost his semi-final to eventual champion Mark Williams.

On Tuesday night, he survived a major scare in UK Championship qualifying as he came from 5-4 behind to beat Oliver Lines - who is ranked 81st in the world - 6-5. His next opponent is Matthew Stevens in the final round of qualifying but he has called on Trump to remove an apparent curse.

Robertson said on his Instagram story: "So Judd, after our match when you called me so lucky, I have had anything but luck. Could you please remove the curse that you have put upon me? Was it the thin red, two cushions in behind the yellow, touching ball that sent you over the edge?

"So yes mate, can you please remove the curse, because playing the game like this isn’t much fun. I do like a challenge, but enough is enough, you’ve had your fun so please remove the curse and allow me to play the game with equal luck as everyone. Thank you mate."

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Robertson is a three-time UK Championship winner having triumphed in 2013, 2015 and 2020, but since winning his third title four years ago the man from Melbourne has suffered three successive first-round eliminations.

He is confident though that he can produce his best despite several near misses. He said after seeing off Lines: "My game is there, in a way it was good to have to dig deep tonight in a match where things were not going my way."

Trump automatically qualifies for the last 16 of the UK Championship because of his world ranking. Trump himself last won the tournament in 2011 and has been a beaten finalist twice since - losing to Ronnie O'Sullivan and Robertson.