Ronnie O’Sullivan eased into round three of the International Championship with a 6-2 victory over home favourite He Guoqiang in Nanjing; O’Sullivan explained post-match why he feels he remains a popular figure in snooker
Ronnie O’Sullivan has made a winning start to the International Championship in China
Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan believes he remains the fans’ favourite in snooker and feels that he ticks ‘every box’ as a sportsman.
The 48-year-old has played a limited schedule in recent months, with his appearance at the International Championship in China his first since losing at the English Open in September – a performance he described as “awful” and “embarrassing”.
O’Sullivan skipped the British Open and Wuhan Open and then withdrew from the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open ahead of the tournament, although looked sharp by breezing through the first two rounds in front of packed crowds in Nanjing.
The Englishman opened with a 6-3 win over women’s world No 1 Mink Nutcharut on Sunday before a convincing 6-2 victory over home favourite He Guoqiang, the player who had knocked him out of the English Open, the following day.
“I get very good support wherever I go all over the world,” O’Sullivan, who is currently world No 5, told the World Snooker Tour following his win.
“I think that’s just because I’ve been playing the game for so long now, for 32 years. I’ve won a lot of big titles and I think that’s what people like, to win the big tournaments, holding all the records, as well as my style of play.
“I’ve managed to entertain the fans. I’ve had some great support, a bit like Jimmy White, but I’ve had the titles to back it up as well.
“Anyone who thought I wasn’t a winner, I’ve kind of got them in my camp. People who just want to see really good snooker, I’ve got them in my camp as well.
O’Sullivan is among the pre-tournament favourites this week in Nanjing
“If you asked 100 snooker fans who they’d want to watch, probably the majority of them would say me because I kind of tick every box there is to tick as a sportsman.”
O’Sullivan’s opening match of the tournament against Nutcharut was delayed due to overcrowding at the 1865 Innovation Hall, where he recovered from losing the opening frame to make a 124 break in the next and a 132 later in the contest.
He also lost the opening game against He but took control of the contest with breaks of 73, 87, 83 and 70. The Chinese player edged a tight sixth frame to reduce his deficit before two further half-century breaks from O’Sullivan set up a last-32 meeting with Pang Junxu.