Stewart Bingham said Ronnie O'Sullivan was the best player of all time and, along with Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, John Higgins and Mark Williams, had the ability to repel the covetousness of young players for the title.
文/Raz Mirza《Sky Sport》
O'Sullivan has been the world number one five times in his career, and before this year's World Championships, O'Sullivan returned to Crucible as world number one. For O'Sullivan, a seventh world championship title will undoubtedly be his goal this year, while defending champion Selby returns to Crucible after missing several races due to psychological problems.
This season's Selby has only reached the semi-finals once at the World Grand Prix last December. As the defending champion and top seed at this year's World Championships, Selby was not as bullish as he had been in previous years.
For Robertson, who has achieved the best results this season, this year is also the best opportunity for him to hold on to the power of the season's quadruple crown and attack his second World Championship title. Also highly regarded are 2019 World Championship champion Judd Trump, veteran finalist Higgins and "Welsh goalscoring machine" Williams.
Nine Chinese currently occupy the top 50 spots in the world rankings, and 2015 World Champion Bingham believes that the younger generation of players is a real threat to veterans who are still working hard in professional competitions.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Bingham said: "The situation is very open now, but anyone would be frantically trying to pull Ronnie O'Sullivan off the horse. O'Sullivan, who is the world number one, and O'Sullivan, who only lost to the top players, is the object of all the opponents he fights against. ”
'He's lost to Robertson a couple of times this year, but he's not reconciled, so it shows that he still has a great desire to win.'
Bingham believes that veterans come to Crucible to play with each other, whether it is Steve Davis in the eighties, Stephen Hendry in the nineties, O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams, they are all young players who can only look at the top of their backs.
"The players from that era have a very comprehensive experience of playing and Ronnie is the best player ever. That's why these players are still active at the top of the tour, as they've eaten the game all. ”
"The young players are trying to stare at the veterans making mistakes and beating them. If young players occasionally succeed, that's certainly a good thing. When their tactics didn't work, they had no way back. For those top players, they always have a secret hidden in their pockets, which is why they still stand proudly today. ”