Ronnie O’Sullivan is seen as the frontrunner to win the World Snooker Championship this year, but not all of his opponents agree with that prediction.
It has been an outstanding season for the Rocket, winning five titles including the UK Championship and the Masters, and remaining as the world’s number one at 48 years old.
However, he is not the only player to have had a remarkable campaign, with Judd Trump also picking up five titles on an amazing run of success.
Luca Brecel As the defending champion at the Crucible this year, when asked whether the favorite should be O’Sullivan or Trump, he leans towards Trump.
‘I would perhaps put Judd as the favorite for the worlds,’ said the Belgian Bullet. ‘There are a couple. Obviously Ronnie. [Mark] Selby always. Who knows.’
It was certainly not meant to disrespect O’Sullivan, with Brecel adding: ‘He’s just an unbelievable player, Ronnie. He’s the best ever.’
‘He has something special because he’s better than the rest of us. He doesn’t always need to play his best to win. In snooker, you have it or you don’t have it, and he clearly has it.’
Mark Selby agrees with the Bullet that he would slightly favor Trump in the battle between the two standout players this season.
‘Rightly so the attention will be on Judd and Ronnie because they’ve been the top players this year by a long way,’ the four-time world champion told Metro.
‘But going to Sheffield, that form book goes out the window. I’ve been there plenty of times not really playing well going into it and you end up having a good comp. Other times you go there having had a great season, expecting to go deep, and you get bombed out first or second round.
‘I’d probably go for Trump over Ronnie. I think consistently he seems to be playing good stuff. I know Ronnie has played well this year, but in patches I still don’t think he’s played as well as his results have shown, I think he’s said that himself. He’s won a few comps and not really played great.’
‘Naturally you can only beat what’s in front of you, but Judd has played some great stuff in some of the comps.’
O’Sullivan may still be the dominant force on the baize, but he doesn’t always feel that way himself, sometimes struggling to find comfort in his technique despite excellent results and he agrees with his doubters to an extent.
‘I definitely don’t feel like the favorite,’ commented the Rocket. ‘But I’ll go there and give it a go, I’m going to try my best, give it 100 per cent and see where we get.’
