Oliver Lines talks being too nice, a tough six months for the family and suffering his most painful defeat

Judd Trump called on his pal Oliver Lines to be more ‘evil’ in his snooker career, but the Yorkshireman says a selfish streak is just not going to happen with his family ties on tour.

Lines enjoyed his finest run as a professional at the Turkish Masters earlier this month, reaching the quarter-finals where he was narrowly beaten 5-4 by Shaun Murphy.

The 26-year-old picked up wins over Yan Bingtao, Xiao Guodong and Andrew Higginson to reach the last eight and Trump said he should be going deep in competitions more often, but would benefit from a more malevolent attitude.

‘I genuinely believe he is as good as some of the players winning these events,’ Trump told The Sportsman. ‘And for me he needs to get that evil side to him, kind of what I had to get and now have in order to win. And if he can do that, get on a roll and move up the rankings I have no doubt he can be a really top player.

‘It’s just the mental side, that is the thing that Oli needs to work on and get right to make a big breakthrough and fulfil his potential.

‘With him it is all in the head. I think having Peter, his dad, on the tour for him with the type of guy he is doesn’t help him. He is very, very close to his family and that is clearly a good thing. But I think it takes away some of his concentration when he is at tournaments and his dad is playing too.’

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The Lines family are in a unique situation on the tour, with Peter and Oli both scrapping for success as professionals. There are obvious benefits to being on