Ronnie O'Sullivan has expressed a strong desire for a dedicated Snooker 900 tour following his victory in the Global Championship on Sunday night. The legendary player defeated Luca Brecel 10-5 in the final of the fast-paced event, which features 15-minute frames and a 20-second shot clock.
O'Sullivan's Dominant Performance
The seven-time world champion, now 50 years old, had a challenging path to the final. He narrowly edged past amateur Billy Joe Castle 5-4 in his opening match before overcoming Kyren Wilson 6-4 in the semi-finals. In the championship match, O'Sullivan produced five centuries, securing the £25,000 top prize. Brecel, who earlier defeated Joe Perry and Florian Nuessle, earned £10,000 as runner-up.
Call for a New Tour
Snooker 900, organized by Jason Francis independently of the professional World Snooker Tour, has captivated O'Sullivan. He boldly claimed that 70% of professional players would prefer this format over traditional snooker. Speaking on Pluto TV, O'Sullivan said: 'I just love this format. If Jason can make a tour, I think if you asked 128 players, I reckon 70 per cent of them would say we would rather play under this format.'
He highlighted the efficiency of the format: 'We've played a lot of snooker today, but we're not sitting there till 1 or 2 in the morning. We know where we are. Jason's come up with an amazing format and I just think he's hit the sweet spot with snooker. If Jason gets some sort of tour going, some backing or whatever, I'm sure this will be here forever.'
Brecel's Support for the Format
Brecel also praised Snooker 900, saying: 'I really like this and I would love to be more of them. And I think many players would love to be involved in these kind of tournaments. The intensity with Ronnie and me was the same as in the UK Championship final, for example. That just shows you how special this is.'
O'Sullivan's Praise for Brecel
Despite his own success, O'Sullivan took time to laud Brecel, calling him his favorite player to watch of all time. 'He's the best player to watch, you can go back to Alex Higgins, Jimmy White, for me, he's the best I've played. I love the way he plays. If he wants to apply himself, he'll probably be world champion again and up there.'
The snooker season has now concluded, with O'Sullivan's next likely appearance being the Shanghai Masters in July.
