O’Sullivan defeated Mark Williams 10-9.
(The Paper reporter Chen Jun/Text) “When someone told me that I was number one in the world again, I was shocked and surprised. I will be committed to becoming a pensioner (the retirement age in the UK is 68). To be the first to be among the top eight in the world, that’s quite a feat.”
On March 31, Beijing time, O’Sullivan first talked about his feeling of returning to the world‘s No. 1. He even expressed his ambition to continue to maintain the highest level in the world for more than 20 years.
To be able to make the not so real O’Sullivan make such rhetoric, in addition to the world‘s number one ranking, he has just completed an epic duel – with Mark Williams, who is also the “75 Three Heroes” Perhaps nothing on the field made O’Sullivan happier than a last-minute victory in the quarter-finals of the Snooker Tour Championship.
O’Sullivan maintains his long-inning streak against Mark Williams.
22-year winning streak
Both have won ranking titles this season, with O’Sullivan winning the World Grand Prix and Mark Williams winning the British Open.
The Snooker Tour Championship was originally a competition for the top eight players in a single season. According to the predictions of the media and fans, this is destined to be a PK with Mars hitting the earth, but before the game, I am afraid no one thought that the game would be played. be so intense.
In the first stage, the two fought 5 to 3, and O’Sullivan took the lead; in the second stage, O’Sullivan maintained the advantage, bringing the score to 7 to 5. Then the competition between the two veterans further heated up, 7 to 7, 8 to 8, 9 to 9, every time O’Sullivan took the lead, Williams fought back in the second game.
In the tiebreaker, Williams took the lead to score, and gained a small point advantage of 25-0, 43-4. Under adversity, O’Sullivan withstood the pressure and kept chasing points through several starts, and finally sealed the victory with a score of 65-44.
In the past, O’Sullivan and Williams have had as many as 45 encounters. O’Sullivan has a 33-12 lead, among which he has maintained an 8-game winning streak against Williams in the long-game competition, since the 2000 China Open. , the time spanned as long as 22 years.
But the victory in this game still made O’Sullivan feel precious. After the game, the “Rocket” said: “This is his best performance against me, and it is also my best performance against him. For us, two people It’s very rare to both play well together.”
The two teamed up for a 16-stroke 50+ performance throughout the game, and O’Sullivan hit a total of 5 strokes to break 100.
The young snooker “75 three heroes”: Higgins (lower left), O’Sullivan (right), Mark Williams (upper left).
Spent 6 years of youth
O’Sullivan has reason to be happy to be able to continue to suppress his old opponents and dedicate such a good game. He said that he has a good mentality, “I can participate in a competition without caring about winning or losing, but I can win and remain competitive at the same time. It’s a very good thing.”
In his long career, this talented player has not always been so focused. For some games that he does not value, he often chooses to abandon the game or play in the first round, and he was once addicted to alcohol and drugs.”The first thing I did when I woke up was to have a drink and then smoke marijuana to keep up with the day’s work. “
Even so, when O’Sullivan gets serious, he’ll be back at the top of the world.
At present, he has 6 world champions in his name and a record 38 ranking champions. In most people’s eyes, if O’Sullivan can squander some of his talent and youth, he will look better than he does now. great.
O’Sullivan also revealed in a show the year before that he almost wasted 6 years of his career. From this point of view, it is invaluable to return to the world number one at the age of 46. Snooker’s “75 three heroes” still dominate the game.
“75 Three Heroes” stand firm
Of course, like O’Sullivan, Higgins and Williams, the other two of the “75 Three Heroes”, are also ageless legends.
In 2018, the two teamed up for the World Championship final match. Now O’Sullivan is back at No. 1 in the world, Higgins is No. 6, and Williams is No. 9. Post-95s and even post-00s continue to emerge. In the world of snooker, the “75 Three Heroes” are still standing enough to amaze people.
After the victory over Williams, O’Sullivan will meet Neil Robertson in the semifinals. In the last two conversations, O’Sullivan has been a loser, and he needs to complete his revenge in this game.
Next is a more important challenge – the 2022 Snooker World Championships will be held from April 16th to May 2nd, which is the most dazzling gem in the professional snooker crown, and it is also the most valued by O’Sullivan ‘s competition.
If he can win the championship, he will tie Hendry’s championship record (7 times); if he can’t, according to the rules of points, O’Sullivan will soon lose his world number one throne, which is difficult for him to accept no matter what.Return to Sohu, see more
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