Ronnie O'Sullivan has demonstrated a different side to his mercurial character, throwing his support behind the future of snooker through his relationships with the sport's rising stars. Widely regarded as the greatest player in snooker history, the 50-year-old has a record 41 ranking titles, including seven world championships and eight Masters trophies.
Support for Zhao Xintong
As the game ushers in a new generation of talent, O'Sullivan has proven to be a key role model for two players in particular: Zhao Xintong and Wu Yize. Last year, O'Sullivan was beaten in the World Snooker Championship semi-final by Zhao, who went on to win the title after defeating Mark Williams in the final. After claiming the winning frame, Zhao shared a few words with O'Sullivan, who later revealed the help he has consistently offered the Chinese star.
O'Sullivan said: "I know we've got a really nice relationship, I'm always trying to help him if I can. He wanted the crowd to give me a clap at the end, but it was Zhao's moment. I tried to get off as quickly as I could because it was his moment to enjoy." Zhao, 29, admitted O'Sullivan is his idol and surprised fans by claiming he did not want to win the match in order to see the legend attempt to capture his eighth world title.
Zhao said: "I can't believe that. I need to say thank you to Ronnie because he has helped me a lot before. He's my idol. I've just tried to enjoy the Crucible. It's an amazing time for me, and I just want to enjoy it because I don't know how many times it can happen here. I've played here, and sometimes the crowd is helpful for Ronnie, and he deserves that. He is a legend here, so I needed to control myself. To be honest, I didn't want to win this time because I wanted to see him win his eighth here. But I won, and I know I needed to play well because before the match I didn't think I could win. I know he's a legend and everyone wanted him to win this tournament, and I could feel that."
Guidance for Wu Yize
A year on from that display of mutual respect, O'Sullivan's influence on Wu Yize was revealed by the 22-year-old. Wu qualified for the World Snooker Championship semi-finals for the first time after beating Hossein Vafaei and thanked O'Sullivan for the support shown throughout his snooker journey. Wu revealed that the pair practiced together prior to his winning the International Championship last year.
Wu said: "We met a few times during practice. We messaged each other occasionally to talk about matches. I really appreciate his support." Delving into the advice he offered Wu on how to become a winner, O'Sullivan said in November: "I was practising quite a bit with Wu Yize in Hong Kong before the tournament that he won. I was just telling him certain areas of his game that I think he needs to improve on if he wants to be a winner. If he wants to rely on playing brilliant and winning, then carry on doing what you're doing. But if you want to be able to play OK and win, then there are certain things that are just non-negotiable, you know? And I explained to him from my observations what I thought they were. He understood it. So it was good watching him play in China; we were chatting pretty much during and after every game. Just watching him understand and kind of go, 'OK, I get it.' And I was like, 'Listen, it's up to you now. You've seen the difference. You can go back to playing the way you were or carry on how you were winning that tournament. But you've got to make that choice at the end of the day.'"
Wu has certainly heeded O'Sullivan's advice as he currently battles Mark Allen for a place in the Crucible final, while Zhao was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Shaun Murphy.
