Neal Foulds snooker column: Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump promise domination for years to come

We’re heading into the thick of the snooker season now, another Northern Ireland Open ticked off, once again in quite spectacular style.

Belfast well and truly delivered, as it always does, but I wonder if we might look back on this year’s event one day and pinpoint this as a significant moment in the history of this great sport of ours.

I think last week, and Sunday’s final in particular, gave us a glimpse of snooker’s future, and I’m more than reassured by what I saw. Things are changing, but snooker is in good hands.

We’ve all wondered, and sometimes worried, about snooker after the Class of 92, but in Judd Trump and Kyren Wilson, we have two terrific players, and good guys to boot, who I’m confident can carry the game forward for the next decade or so.

I know we didn’t get the big finish we wanted, but Judd versus Kyren in a big, Belfast final really got the juices flowing and you’d be hopeful this is a rivalry that can run and run.

Judd has, of course, been pretty much top of the tree for a while – though a certain Ronnie O’Sullivan might still have something to say about that – but we’ve had to wait a little bit longer for Kyren to really cement his position in the upper echelons of the game.

Ranking wins are one thing, but for Kyren, winning the World Championship last spring elevated him to another level. Being world champion is a big thing, especially for a real snooker man like Kyren, and he seems to be embracing it and using it to spur him on to even greater things.

He’s won twice since Sheffield, once in China and now in Belfast, beating Trump in the final both times, and to steal a horse racing term, he’s really franking that Crucible form.

His attitude is faultless. You’ve got to admire what he’s doing and the manner in which he is going about his business. He’s a model professional, playing in every tournament, and I sense a real swagger about Kyren now.

We saw that in Sunday’s final. He bossed the match from start to finish, but it was noticeable just how quickly he was playing, showcasing his fearless, brilliant potting throughout. It was a top-class performance from a man clearly full of confidence.

Judd spoke before the final about what Kyren is doing as world champion and how that is spurring him on to take his game to the next level. Just as Ronnie, John Higgins and Mark Williams towed each other along, dragging one another to greater heights, Kyren and Judd promise to do the same.

Make no mistake, Kyren is here to stay. He and Judd are top of the rankings, with Judd still number one, both having amassed over a million pounds in prize money already this season. They are feeding off each other and the two could dominate the sport for a while to come.

It’s amazing to think how far their rivalry has come. They go way back to their junior days, so know each other and their games inside out, though their relationship hasn’t always been plain sailing. There were some things said a few years back, from Kyren initially, that didn’t go down well with Judd who responded in kind.

But that isn’t them. It was silly and these things are always drummed up into something they’re not, especially in elite sport. Nowadays, it’s completely different, with so much mutual respect on both sides.

They are different characters, for sure, but both come from good families who have brought them both up the right way. We saw that at the end of Sunday’s final when one of Kyren’s sons immediately went up to Judd and gave him a hug. What a lovely moment that was, and you could see Judd appreciated it.

Snooker has been crying out for the next generation to step up and these two have, while we’ve seen tournament wins for other big names in Mark Selby and Neil Robertson already this season, too.

But what of the Class of 92? I get the sense that the same level of drive we are seeing in Judd and Kyren just isn’t there for those older guys.

Mark Williams openly admitted he wouldn't have played much between now and Christmas had he won the bumper first prize at the Saudi Arabia Masters and perhaps, understandably so, the years of grind have finally chiselled away at his enthusiasm.

And I think the same applies to Ronnie. I expect to see him in York later this month bidding to defend his UK Championship crown, and I’m sure he’ll play in China this week, but I don’t think he wants to be playing week in, week out anymore.

I wouldn’t say he’s winding down so much; we know how important the Chinese events are to him, and of course his new relationship with snooker backers in Saudi Arabia. That means he’s likely to keep missing events over here, though I’m sure he’ll want to defend in titles in York and then at the Masters.

I wouldn’t be writing off any of the Class of 92, with John still playing to a high level, but more specifically to Ronnie, I think he’ll be back. I’d love to see him play Kyren or Judd in a long match sometime soon, to see exactly where we are. That would be something to savour.

With a bit of luck, that’s for the future, but I must again pay tribute to Belfast and the Northern Ireland Open. What a terrific tournament that has now become, one of the highlights on the calendar for players and fans alike.

Compared to the big Chinese and Saudi events, the prize money isn’t huge, though it’s certainly not to be sniffed at, but this is one of the tournaments that means more to players than money.

The venue at Waterfront Hall is just a magnificent one for snooker – much like the German Masters at the Tempodrom in Berlin – and players really want to come to Belfast and perform in front of a passionate and packed local crowd who have such a great history with snooker. It's a wonderful tournament.

I’ve spent much of the last week reflecting on the future and how optimistic I am about that future with Judd and Kyren leading the way, but I want to give the final word to my good friend Jimmy White who made the early headlines in Belfast.

It’s worth remembering that Jimmy is 62 now, but still, after all the snooker he has played, his enthusiasm for the game he dearly loves shows no signs of diminishing. Jimmy is one who would play every week and he’s still playing well.

He beat the hugely talented Jackson Page to qualify for Belfast and then battled past a very good player in Hossein Vafaei in the last-64 in a match which became very nervy and wasn’t without its share of controversy. That was a huge win for Jimmy, really.

He’s in the second year of this two-year tour card, one he earned on merit it shouldn't be forgotten, and I really wouldn’t be sure what Jimmy’s plans are for next year or beyond. Barry Hearn has always said that because of everything Jimmy has done for snooker, there will be a Wild Card there for him for as long as he wants one.

The crowd really got behind him last week, as they always have, so I suspect the snooker public would love to keep watching him and I know Jimmy still loves to play and perform. That hunger is still there.

He’s quite remarkable, a true legend in every sense, and at a time when the current generation is finally beginning the dominate the sport, it’s nice to think there is still space for one of its brightest ever stars, an elder statesman whose passion and love for snooker has outlasted so many.

It really does feel like there is a feel-good factor around snooker again. There is much to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.