Wild in it to win it

MIchael Wild

SNOOKER MICHAEL Wild completed a 6-0 whitewash of Whitchurch superstar Judd Trump in the £657,000 International Championship and declared: “If I play like that, I can win it.”

Moorside’s World No. 120 Wild was dominant in his emphatic victory over his 26-year-old opponent, the 2013 champion, in the qualifiers at The Metrodome, Barnsley.

And he put his victory, which included breaks of 82, 63 and 62, down to the modifications on his table at home.

He said: “My only previous match this season was a 5-0 defeat by Liam Highfield in the Shanghai Masters qualifiers and I just couldn’t control the white ball on the fast table.

“So I had my table at home adjusted to be exactly the same as these fast tables and it just felt like playing on it against Judd.”

The magnitude of Wild’s achievement can be gauged by his pre-match odds.

He was as big as 18-1 to beat world No.7 Trump and a massive 1,000-1 to win 6-0.

Wild added: “This is definitely the biggest win of my career.

“I did beat Steve Davis 5-0 a couple of years ago, but Judd is at the height of his powers so to win like this gives me great confidence.

“In fact, if I can play like that in China, there’s no reason why I can’t win the tournament.”

The final stages of the International Championship, which carries a bumper top prize of £125,000, will be held in the Chinese city of Daqling from October 25 to November 1.