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The Snooker Players Championship kicks off Super Tuesday! At 9 o'clock tonight, Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao appeared at the same time, playing against Hawkins and Gilbert respectively. Tomorrow at 3 a.m., O'Sullivan and Trump meet in the first round and stage "Mars Hitting Earth"! Kuaishou "Star Club" will broadcast the second day of the Players Tournament from 9 o'clock tonight, so stay tuned!
O'Sullivan, who has favored Zhao Xintong many times before, said that Zhao Xintong is taking the initiative. He said both himself and Trump could fall behind in a tournament limited to the first 16 players of a single season.
Zhao Xintong won two titles this season, the British Championship and the German Masters, and participated in the Players' Championship as the no. 1 seed. In the final of the German Masters, Zhao Xintong swept the former Masters champion Yan Bingtao, but the friendship between the two was still the same, and they still ate and practiced together. Zhao Xintong's single-season prize money is 116,000 pounds more than O'Sullivan and 223,000 pounds more than Trump.
There's also a highlight of this week's Players Tournament – O'Sullivan, a 46-year-old six-time world champion, will return to world number one if he beat Trump in the first round and wins the title.
With the big battle looming, O'Sullivan commented on Zhao Xintong's rise this season: "The last time I was excited about a player was when I was nine years old and I saw Hendry playing, I was thinking'Who is this?' I remember watching some of Stephen's games at Hastings and you knew he was special. For me, Zhao Xintong is the only player since Hendry who makes me think, 'Wow, he can be different'. ”
"Of course, now you have to say 'maybe.' It's still too early, and he still has a lot to learn and master before he can become perfect. He's great now, but if he does some more polishing, he'll become a great player he can match. It's up to him, whether he's willing to accept it and put it into action. ”
"Because Zhao Xintong can be as good as he expects, the initiative is in his hands." As he grows, he will cope with stressful scenes better than he does now. Although he is a bit single now, basically scoring goals and beautiful goals, his defense can also be improved, which will make him stronger. ”
"What scares others is that he's only using half of the game at the moment. He can still sweep other players, but only because he's too talented. However, he can become more difficult to deal with than he is now, and control the situation from the beginning of the game. ”
"There aren't many people who can threaten major records – like Hendry's seven world titles, my seven Masters and seven British Championships and 20 three-time champions. He may be the only one at the moment who can break some of these records. I watched him win the German Masters and watched what happened next. Zhao Xintong has a place here. ”
"He reminds me in many ways of my sons – I think he's a bit like my little Ronnie – all handsome kids! Of course, the most important thing is his talent and his playing style. His game was exciting and it was exciting to see someone turn out. ”
O'Sullivan faced Trump, and the matchup couldn't have been tougher. Trump's mediocre performances this season are the reason the two met early, with O'Sullivan being the third seed and Trump the 14th seed.
The Players' Championship has been held five times since its restructuring in 2017, with O'Sullivan and Trump winning twice each, and O'Sullivan reached the final last year but lost 3-10 to Higgins.
Trump is one of the few players to lead O'Sullivan in terms of engagement record, winning eight of the 11 final conversations in particular — five of the last six encounters.
"It makes me happy to be on the signing sheet. I haven't been doing well lately, so I'm looking forward to another road trip. It's good to be able to go out for a few days instead of going out on Monday and then coming home on Tuesday night. ”
"So I want to stay a few more days. I planned several good running routes. The first round against Judd... If the fans and TV stations are looking forward to the ball, that's great! As for me, I will enjoy the game and hope to be able to fight hard. ”