The World Snooker Tour Championship, which began on the afternoon of March 28, Local Time in Wales, was a solid summit forum for the world's top eight that season, because it attracted the attention of many snooker fans and the authority of the event, and the game was played only once a day, which was completely different from the large number of participants including the World Championships.
Higgins
The opener ended with one of the "75 Three Masters" and one of the "75 Three Masters", 47-year-old veteran John Higgins defeating China's up-and-coming Zhao Xintong 10-9, the former advancing to the semifinals. According to the schedule, the third day of the game (on the afternoon of the 30th local time) is played against "Rocket" O'Sullivan and "Golden Left Hand" Mark Williams, which is a dialogue between two other "75 Three Masters" players, all three of whom are snooker superstars who have been riding the professional stage for nearly 30 years, and the idols of countless new and old fans and players.
Even snooker, a sport that is less demanding on age and physical strength, they are all veritable veterans, but they still compete and take the lead in this arena, making countless young players unable to catch up, which is admirable. And O'Sullivan, the best of them, has decided to return to the world number one after a gap of three years, at the second oldest age in the history of snooker.
O'sullivan
O'Sullivan's single-season ranking is the world's third, the overall ranking is the world's second, and his opponent Williams in this tour championship is sixth in the single season, so the two can meet in the first round of cross-elimination, and Higgins is eighth in the season, and he has eliminated the first-placed Zhao Xintong. That is to say, there will definitely be two "75 three masters" in the top four of this tour.
According to the relevant bonus point rules, O'Sullivan, who is currently ranked second in the world, has no points deducted in the same period, and the bonus of the first round of this season's outing is counted in the points ranking, O'Sullivan has determined that after nearly three years, he will return to the world first place at an "advanced age" of 46 years and 119 days. He will also become the oldest in the world in nearly 40 years, after his mentor Ray Lilton (50 years and 206 days), and the second oldest world first in history. The Rockets first topped the world rankings in 2002, when he was just 26 years old. He then reached the summit four times, from May 2002 to May 2003, from May 2004 to May 2006, from May 2008 to May 2010, and from March to August 2019, accumulating a total of five years and 129 days. Although snooker's "emperor" belongs to Stephen Hendry, the "emperor" who is now worthy of the name is O'Sullivan.
As Snooker's most talented ever player, O'Sullivan's left-handed technique is as good as his right-handed technique, breaking world records on his first appearance and achieving phenomenal results, setting a series of astonishing records since turning pro in 1992. At the age of 15, he became the champion of the World Junior Championship; in the same year, when he participated in the British Amateur Championship, he became the youngest golfer to win a single score of 147 in the competition; at the age of 17, he won the first ranking title, the British Championship, thus becoming the youngest world ranking champion in the world at that time.
During his career, O'Sullivan has won 73 titles, including 38 ranking titles, 20 heavyweight invitational tournament titles (7 Wembley Masters champions + 10 snooker Premier League titles + 3 snooker championships), 15 single-shot 147 points, and the only snooker to break 1000+ in a single stroke.
In today's 80s and 90s, post-00s players have carried the banner of international snooker leading, led by O'Sullivan, the famous "75 Three Masters" have no abdication consciousness, and in 2022, they will be 47 years old, but they are constantly rising in various open and ranking tournaments, winning championships, still accumulating honors, giving lessons to the juniors again and again, and the snooker stage is still playing their ageless legends. Chinese fans have also given them very cute nicknames to show their love for the three people. O'Sullivan is revered as the "Fire Teacher", and John Higgins and Mark Williams are called "Zhang Haigen" and "Ma Guilian" according to the transliteration, which is the hope that Chinese players can produce superstars like the three of them.
The same three outstanding 1975-born players who turned professional in 1992 are not to be repeated in their achievements and to play against each other. In last year's final of the Snooker Players Championship, Higgins won the championship after defeating O'Sullivan 10-3 and also won his 31st ranking championship. Two veterans of the same age, with superb skills, gave wonderful performances, so that those who were 10 years younger and 20 years younger than them could only become spectators of the game. Mark Williams's achievements are also not inferior, of course, not "good guys were brave", handsome when he was young, and now he is almost at the top of the snooker stage is one of the most active forces in the snooker arena. Williams has been called the "Golden Left Hand", "the most accurate man in the world" and carries three World Championship titles. At the 2018 World Championships, he also won the championship at the age of 43, envious of everyone.
Williams
"75 Sanjie" has won a total of 13 World Championships, more than 90 ranking championships, dominated the snooker arena for more than 25 years, compared with the post-80s and post-90s excellent golfers such as Selby, Ding Junhui, Robertson, etc., "75 Sanjie" is aging gracefully, but it is still active and alone to become a file, their charm is difficult to be surpassed.
Text/Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin