Joe O’Connor takes on Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Saudi Arabia Masters on Tuesday and is ready to channel his hero Mark Selby to get the job done.
O’Connor has been in brilliant form so far this season, winning 13 of the 14 games he has played, with his only loss coming in the final of the Championship League.
Two victories in Jeddah have taken have taken him to the last 32 where O’Sullivan joins the action and the Rocket will need to be on his game against the bang in form 29-year-old.
The Leicester man is coming off a 5-0 win over Sanderson Lam on Monday and, despite not yet having a ranking title to his name, is aiming for silverware this week.
Asked what would be a successful campaign in Saudi, he told WST: ‘Lifting the trophy.
‘I come to every tournament trying to win it. Until I’m out of the tournament I’ll then reflect and see if it was a good tournament, but I’m still in so I’m going for the win.’
O’Connor and O’Sullivan have met just once before, with the younger man getting the win in a Championship League clash last year.
Obviously the world number 28 has great respect for the seven-time world champion, but it was fellow Leicester man Selby who he held as his role model in the game, rather than the Rocket.
‘He is the GOAT,’ O’Connor said of his opponent on Tuesday. ‘I think I did play him once in the Championship League and got the better of him. Hopefully I can keep that run going.
‘I’ve looked up to Mark more than anyone, but Ronnie’s always been the man, the face of snooker almost. You always see clips of Ronnie everywhere and he’s a pleasure to watch when he’s on form.’
Asked if he might delve into some ‘classic Selby tactics’ against the Rocket, he said: ‘If they work then I’ll give them a go.’
O’Connor is heading in the right direction in the game, with three ranking finals under his belt and feels it is only a matter of time until he starts lifting trophies.
He also relishes facing the biggest names on the grandest stages, adding: ‘I do enjoy playing the top players especially on centre stage, table one. I enjoy it. I don’t shy away from the headlights, I confront it. I love playing out there in front of a crowd against the best players in the world.’
While O’Connor has been racking up wins, this will be just O’Sullivan’s third game of the season so far.
The 49-year-old edged out Barry Hawkins 6-5 in his opening round at the Shanghai Masters before losing to eventual champion Kyren Wilson in the quarter-finals.
Playing with a new cue this season, he is looking to improve on his quarter-final run at last year’s Saudi Arabia Masters in Riyadh, when he was beaten by Si Jiahui.
It is a huge day for the tournament on Tuesday as all of the top 16 join the fray, to take on the 16 players who have come through the tiered draw, which started on Friday.
Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters last 32
11am
Neil Robertson vs Ben Woollaston
Zhang Anda vs Stuart Bingham
Mark Selby vs Long Zehuang
Judd Trump vs Oliver Lines
Mark Williams vs Yuan Sijun
Ali Carter vs Gary Wilson
John Higgins vs Elliot Slessor
Shaun Murphy vs Thepchaiya Un-Nooh
5.30pm
Ding Junhui vs Stephen Maguire
Mark Allen vs Chang Bingyu
Zhao Xintong vs Steven Hallworth
Kyren Wilson vs Iulian Boiko
Chris Wakelin vs Farakh Ajaib
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Joe O’Connor
Si Jiahui vs Wu Yize
Barry Hawkins vs Martin O’Donnell
Defending champion Judd Trump takes on Oliver Lines, Selby has Long Zehuang, Ding Junhui plays the in-form Stephen Maguire and Shaun Murphy meets Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in an eye-catching contest.
Crowds have been poor so far at the Green Halls, but the arrival of the sport’s biggest stars will likely see them increase, certainly for O’Sullivan’s game on Tuesday evening.
Allen questions huge ranking opportunities
Mark Allen gets his Saudi campaign underway against Chang Bingyu on Tuesday, but has questioned the huge impact that the big-money event has on the world rankings.
With the rankings based on prize money, the £500,000 top prize and £200,000 for the runner-up will have a massive impact, which the Pistol feels could give false positions for players who just have a good week in Jeddah.
‘It’s a little bit of falseness of the rankings, if I do well this week that takes care of the whole year,’ Allen told TNT Sports. ‘I don’t really think that’s a fair reflection of how the tour should work.
‘I think Mark Williams said himself last year, once he knew he got to the final he could miss a few events, he knew he was already in as much as the Tour Championship in April.
‘I don’t think that’s a fair reflection of how a ranking system should work, but here we are and hopefully I can take advantage.’
