One week before the kickoff of the English Open, a tournament he won in 2017, Ronnie O’Sullivan gave a lucid observation on the current level of the world circuit, but also on his performances, in teeth saws since his last title at the world championship, in the fall of 2020. A situation which does not seem to alarm the English champion, who prefers to highlight his longevity, as he prepares to celebrate his thirty years of career in 2022.
According to The Rocket, the elite of the world snooker would today be split into two dominant divisions, as he presented it to our colleagues from Eurosport UK: “I would probably reduce the top level of world snooker to two divisions nowThe 45-year-old was also placed in the second, along with two other colleagues to be classified among the legends of the game: John Higgins and Mark Williams.
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An XXL category to which Judd Trump, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson do not belong, however, that Ronnie O’Sullivan classifies among the best currently. “I think Selby, Trump and probably Robertson… You could say these are the top three players on the tour. I think outside of them you can put John Higgins and Mark Williams aside and that’s just because of our age.“, sketched the six-time world champion.
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For O’Sullivan, if the three “young people” dominate the circuit at this point, freshness and the years necessarily play a role. “At my age now, if I win a tournament and give it my all, it takes me three or four days just to recover again to be able to start again. Whereas seven or eight years or even a few years ago still, I could win the world championship and wake up the next day saying to myself: ‘I’m going back as soon as I can ‘.
John Higgins and Mark Williams
Credit: Getty Images
However, Higgins, Williams and O’Sullivan continue to run and assert themselves as strong contenders in every tournament. And The Rocket does not hesitate to compare the trio he forms with John Higgins and Mark Williams with the two tennis legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. “We were kind of good, because we come from that special time. We are a bit like Federer and Nadal: we may be old, we can play 70% of our capacity and still perform well. I think our age is helping us right now, but I don’t know how long it can go on.“
But the 45-year-old remains lucid. “You know, the older you get, the less ability you have to concentrate or perform over time. So I think these three (ndlr : Selby, Trump et Robertson) are on a whole new level. I put them aside just because of their age, not because of their ability to play, but just because they are able to focus and recover game after game, much better than (Mark) Williams, (John) Higgins or I would. Once you hit 43 or 44, it gets a lot harder, that’s for sure.“
The Triple Crown or nothing?
On the sidelines of the English Open, O’Sullivan also spoke about the tournaments that really matter to him, especially those of the Triple Crown. The Wordsley native made it clear that the World Championship remains the pinnacle and is worth “five mediocre events“in his mind.
“The triple crown tournaments are the big three tournaments (editor’s note: the United Kingdom championship, the world championship and the Masters), this is where there is the most pressure. This is where the best players usually thrive and they never change, much like the Masters of Golf and its four majors. You can still judge Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods because of the number of majors they have played and most importantly won.“, launched The Rocket.
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For the six-time world champion, the world championship definitely serves as the ultimate benchmark. “I would probably take a world title rather than five mediocre events because the world championship is the best of all. “Before driving the point home using the example of the Premier League players mentioned above.” Judd (Trump) would trade any tournament with Selby because the world championship is the one everyone wants to win. And I know he would!”
The English Open which opens its doors next week will be a good preparation before the United Kingdom Championship, the first 2021-2022 meeting of the Triple Crown, which begins on November 23.
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