Ronnie O'Sullivan selects his most improved player and magic moment of the snooker season
The seven-time world champion has had his say on who has impressed him the most
It’s the end of a very busy professional snooker season that has had a full schedule of international events for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. In a recent sit-down interview with Eurosport, Ronnie O’Sullivan has been nominating his best bits, including his opinions on the most improved player and the magic moment of the 2023/24 campaign.
‘The Rocket’ has been impressed by the exploits of Chinese star Zhang Anda, who he names as the most enhanced cueist on the tour. He said: “Got to be Anda isn't it. Has to be. Without a doubt.
“He’s always been a really good player. I’ve had a lot of practice session with Anda years ago and he would get the better of you 50/50 and then just wouldn’t do it in tournaments. You’d think ‘OK, there’s a reason for that, don’t know what it is’. But obviously he’s overcome whatever that reason was now and he’s playing some really good snooker.”
Zhang has enjoyed a remarkable breakthrough season having spent all his career in the mid to lower echelons of the world ranking list.
Prior to this season, the now 32-year-old had never been past the quarter-finals of a ranking event, but he reached three in a matter of a few months, collecting his first title on home soil at the International Championship and making a maximum 147 break in the final. As a consequence of all the prize money he earned, Zhang zoomed up into the world’s elite top 16 for the first time.
Regarding the season’s most magical moment, O’Sullivan elected for Gary Wilson’s memorable display against John Higgins in the semi-final of the Welsh Open; a tournament that Wilson went on to win to secure his second ranked title of the term.
On his fellow Englishman, O’Sullivan explained: “What Gary Wilson done in Llandudno against John Higgins. Nearly making a 147, then getting the 147, then going 5-0 up [was 4-0, 5-1], then Higgins coming back at him, then winning, and then winning the final.
“That match with Higgins stood out for me. I thought ‘this is impressive stuff’.”