Judd Trump believes the popular snooker format has yet to be created (Photo: Getty Images)

Judd Trump can’t wait to be back at the Masters this month and play in the celebrated atmosphere of Alexandra Palace, but would like to see snooker find a new format that encourages a more lively environment more often.

The north London event is known for being one of the louder tournaments on the tour, although that means lots of cheering and shouting rather than the overly loud atmosphere of the one-frame snooker shoot-out.

This unique event consists of one-frame matches of up to 10 minutes and is played under a different set of rules, including ball-in-hand for a foul and the need to hit a hoop on every shot.

Inspired by the success of T20 cricket, Trump believes there is potential success in short format snooker with a darker atmosphere than a regular event, but the shoot-out isn’t quite the answer.

“There has to be a format and I don’t think it has been found yet, that’s snooker, not the shoot out, a game of snooker where the top players still have the advantage of being the better player, that’s still not right. by stupid rules,” Trump told Snooker Scene magazine.

“It could be a frame, 15 minutes, I just don’t like the ball-in-hand gimmicks or whatever, it’s not snooker. I feel like something is missing. I just don’t know what it is.

“I would have the same environment as the shoot-out, that kind of atmosphere, but maybe a frame of real snooker. There might be a shot clock, but the other rules, hitting a pillow and stuff, I don’t like that. That’s why I’m going don’t go in, it’s a coin toss. I want to know that if I’m one of the best players I have one of the best chances of winning.”

The world number four believes there is an audience that could enjoy a more relaxed environment than a traditional snooker event, but that has not been researched.

“I still feel like there’s a whole new audience out there that hasn’t dived in yet,” he said. “A whole new type of person who wants to go out and laugh, have fun and watch snooker at the same time. But it doesn’t have to watch every shot.

“You can meet your friends but you don’t have to worry about repelling players and there is still world class sport. I just feel that at some point we have to find something between the shootout and a normal tournament.

“I’ve been to darts, they have 3,000-5,000 fans and 100 of them watch darts, 2,900 don’t. Snooker needs to do something about this.

“You don’t want to shout, I don’t think anyone would like that, but we want someone to come and play snooker, have a chat with your mate, have a drink, but not scare off the players.”

Whether or not this is the answer to that conundrum, Trump believes there is great potential in team events that have been attempted but failed to reach the heights of, say, the Mosconi Cup in pool or the Ryder Cup in golf.

The former world champion believes Britain could even be broken up into teams to encourage local support and tap into the kind of fans team sports enjoy.

“Team events is one way we can go. The World Cup has not existed in recent years, but you could have a tournament and teams depending on where you are from. In cricket it’s the districts and you stand with your own people,” he said.

‘I’m from Bristol, Jack [Lisowski] Cheltenham, there’s a squad. London, the Northeast, whatever. In football you are raised to support your heritage, you don’t really choose. I don’t think snooker had all that.

“I feel like a team or doubles game can really take off. A better atmosphere, a little interaction is missing. It’s just another idea, I throw things away.”

Judd Trump (Image: Getty Images)

Trump is at Alexandra Palace next week in hopes of winning a second Masters title and he looks forward to it as much as any other event on the calendar.

“The vibe sets the Ally Pally apart,” Trump told WST. “This is probably my favorite atmosphere of all the tournaments because of the whole setup. You now feel very surrounded by the crowd around the table, so it can be quite an intimidating place.

“People are much louder and really participate. Many of the other events have more than one table making this impossible. But that’s the 16 best players in the world at one table. This event has so much prestige and everyone likes to go to London to play snooker.

“It’s just the best place to play. It’s grand, well attended and well done,” said the two-time champion. “I have very fond memories of last year’s games. It was probably the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in, or something. The World Cup was also good.”