HENDRY: ROCKET’S BAIZE OF GLORY
THIS year’s World Championship, which started yesterday in Sheffield, could be a “procession” for rampant Ronnie O’Sullivan, says legend Stephen Hendry.
The Rocket, 42, has won a joint-record five ranking titles this season – and is showing no signs of letting up.
Lifting the most prized possession in the sport for a sixth time at the Crucible would level boyhood idol Steve Davis and move him within one of Hendry’s record seven. “If Ronnie keeps playing like this, then the World Championship looks like a foregone conclusion,” said Hendry.
“He openly admits he struggles with the 17-day slog that Sheffield is, but, with the way it is at the moment, it’s looking like it could be a procession.
“The fact that he can come in and mention the other guys’ bottle and challenge them – that means he’s comfortable with the pressure.
“He’s almost saying, ‘Come and have a go if you think you’re hard enough’. At the moment no one’s stepping up to challenge him.” Hendry (below) added: “I think there’s only three players that go to the table and think they can beat him – John Higgins, Judd Trump and Mark Selby. “I think the rest are beaten before they even get on the table.” O’Sullivan regularly plays down his motivation for accolades, but Trump said: “Ronnie has been on a different level to anyone else this season. “A lot of players have collapsed against him.”