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Thursday, November 20, 2008, 22:21
Keynsham teenager Trump and Nailsea cueman Norman must win six qualifying matches at the English Institute of Sport if they are to secure a place in snooker's most prestigious invitational tournament.
The winner of the qualifying tournament will have a chance of pocketing the tournament's overall winner's cheque of £150,000.
And Trump is understandably confident, having reached the semi-finals of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix in Glasgow this season.
The new provisional world No 29 locks horns with Matthew Couch, a qualifier from Scunthorpe, in his opening match in South Yorkshire (10am).
"I've had a good season so far, my aim was to qualify for as many tournaments as possible – and I've achieved that," said Trump.
"The more I play at the tournaments, the better I'm becoming. I've got used to playing in front of the TV cameras, I don't feel under pressure like I used too."
Trump beat world champion and world No 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan in Glasgow, as well as Joe Perry, a World Championship semi-finalist last season.
"I'm full of confidence. When you beat the big players it does give you extra belief," he added.
"I've always known I've got the game to beat the big names, but it's about producing when it matters.
"Beating Ronnie was the biggest win of my career, it gave me a lot of confidence and self-belief.
"But I've been saying for some time now that I need to do something. I've been on the professional tour for a few seasons now, it's about time I started to show what I can do."
Meanwhile Norman, the world 54, faces Welshman Jamie Jones in his opening match (2pm). Victory would earn the 28-year-old a second-round clash with either Middlesex professional Martin Gould or Chinese cueman Li Hang.
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