‘Superhuman’ O’Sullivan, ‘indestructible’ Trump

Jimmy White believes “superhuman” Ronnie O’Sullivan has shown he knows how to produce under pressure as the world No. 1 eyes an eighth World Snooker Championship title.

The Rocket goes into the 2024 event tied with Stephen Hendry on seven crowns as the most successful players of the modern era.

O’Sullivan is also bidding to clinch the coveted single-season Triple Crown for the first time after his triumphs at the Masters and UK Championship.

First up in the 48-year-old’s bid for glory is a first-round clash with Jackson Page.

“I like his game, but I think he’s a little bit too open for Ronnie,” White said of O’Sullivan’s Welsh opponent.

“And I think Ronnie going for eight World Championships, the first time going for the Triple Crown…the way he’s produced during the last season, when someone has come close to him, he seems to have gone for the win and produced. He kicks on, he’s having those spasms of winning three or four frames.”

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O’Sullivan comes into the tournament on the back of a defeat to Mark Williams in the final of the Tour Championship, but White is not reading too much into that slip-up.

“He’s only human,” White added. “Now and again he’s going to run out of steam. Mark Williams played excellent.

“But because Ronnie’s superhuman with the way he’s been playing this season, you haven’t seen a lot of that. I can’t see Jackson Page beating Ronnie.”

White’s fellow Eurosport expert Alan McManus took a different view of world No. 43 Page’s chances.

“I actually think he’s got the game to upset Ronnie,” said McManus.

“I watched the last couple of matches in qualifying. The way he won the match to get here was sensational. Through the ball he’s like butterscotch, under massive pressure.”

Trump showing ‘indestructible self-belief’

Another leading contender to take the title at the Crucible is Judd Trump, who is enjoying a superb 2023-24 campaign.

The Ace in the Pack has already claimed five titles this season, but faces a tough opening task against Hossein Vafaei.

“Judd Trump has had a fantastic season and went on that roll where he had this indestructible self-belief,” White said.

“Then he played O’Sullivan in Saudi Arabia and he just had a bad day. It wasn’t like him to play that bad.

“I think you’ve got to fancy Judd Trump in that match. Make no mistake, [Vafaei] is a great player, but he’s playing Judd Trump. Trump for me temperament wise, if he gets the form he had six weeks ago, I think he wins the match.”

Once again, the two pundits were on different sides as McManus backed the Iranian to impress.

“I think Hossein is going to win,” McManus said. “I think he’s playing awesome, he’s playing very aggressive.”

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Brecel has mettle…but also attitude

Luca Brecel arrives in Sheffield as the defending champion after his stunning triumph last season.

However, the Belgian Bullet has struggled to build on that success this season and White foresees an awkward first-round match for him against David Gilbert.

“Unfortunately, since he’s had success, he seems to have gone back to that little bit of an attitude,” White said of Brecel.

“We know how good Dave Gilbert is…if he plays his game, he can beat Luca for sure.

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“Sometimes he [Brecel] is one of these guys I want to shake and say: ‘fast forward yourself, this is it pal, you’ve got to do it now.’

“He’s got a tough game Luca, but he’s got a lot of mettle about him and a lot of self-belief.”

Stream the 2024 World Snooker Championship live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosport.com