Judd Trump made a confident start in his bid for three straight wins at the European Masters in Lommel when he eased past Martin O’Donnell with a 4-0 whitewash.

The ‘Ace in the Pack’ is aiming to win the event for the third consecutive year and had little problem in sealing his spot in the first round proper, where he will tackle Liam Highfield on Tuesday.

Victory last year in Lommel, when he defeated former world champion Stuart Bingham 9-7 in the final, saw him retain a ranking title for the first time in his career and world number five Trump will be keen to keep his crown.

A break of 114 was the highlight against O’Donnell, with Trump also contributing breaks of 52 and 76 in securing the frames he needed for victory in less than 50 minutes.

The Englishman is putting stock in the notion of coming back to win the same tournament in successive years, something he suggests only the game’s elite achieve.

“It is only the best players in the world that have won tournaments two, three or four times in a row so if I could win this week then that would be a good goal for me,” Trump said.

Trump is 1.18 to defeat Highfield on Tuesday afternoon, with the world’s 58th-ranked player priced at 4.75 to end his reign in Belgium.

Kyren Wilson came through an entertaining opening-round clash with Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh to emerge a 4-1 victor. Un-Nooh spurned an opportunity for a maximum break in frame four, breaking down on 72, before ‘The Warrior’ closed out his success with breaks of 65 and 81 to set up a tussle with Allan Taylor in round two.