Stephen Hendry is confident that Ronnie O’Sullivan is showing a form that could potentially bring him a record-breaking 8th World Championship title at Sheffield.
Scotland’s great Hendry was the melting pot king of the 1990s, and he and the British O’Sullivan hold the record of seven victory in a jointly famous venue.
However, that could change in the next 10 days as O’Sullivan follows the eighth world title of his career.
A lively 10-4 victory over Alicarter in Round 1 made O’Sullivan not shaking off the cobwebs, who hadn’t played in professional competition since snapping his cue in frustration in his game state in January. He also struggles with what he called “stage horror.”
On Saturday, O’Sullivan will begin his second round match against Pan Junks, the 25-year-old Chinese player who defeated Chang Anda in the opener.
The contest begins at 14:30 on BST and spans three sessions over three days, ending on Monday evening.
As far as O’Sullivan’s focus is concerned, his outlook looks even better as his game appeared in a decent form against Carter.
His trophies don’t hurt that Kylen Wilson, Mark Selby and Mark Allen were knocked out of half of every draw.
Hendry already likes O’Sullivan’s chances.
He told the World Snooker Tour Snooker Club Podcast: [against Carter] It definitely shows that he is a candidate.
“So I’m really looking forward to seeing how he plays the rest of the championship.”
Six-time champion Steve Davis is thinking of Snooker’s 17-day “Marathon of the Mind” as a totally fresh challenge with the first round stage navigating.
Speaking about the BBC Four, Davis said those who pass the qualification survey should be able to compete without undue worries now that the match has shifted from the age of 19 to the best contest of 25 frames.
There is a greater range to recover from dips in form in long matches.
“I don’t think you’ll approach it a different approach, but you’re more relaxed because you don’t have the first round of panic,” Davis said.
“I know I have to sleep overnight on leads and deficits, but that can play the role from time to time.
“But it’s more relaxed and convenient because if you have a bad mini session or session as much as you’re having a long match, it’s not too close to panic.”
At 49, O’Sullivan will become the oldest world champion in snooker if he wins the title on May 5th. He already holds that record following his victory over Judd Trump three years ago.
