Glasgow Grand Prix Snooker Preview
1st October, 2009
World number one snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan has generated a lot of interest ahead of the Grand Prix tournament, which starts on Saturday in Glasgow. Rocket Ronnie from Essex, has claimed that John Higgins has under-achieved in the sport and not maximised his potential.
Higgins captured his third world championship in May, which equalled the same amount as his rival O’Sullivan. Throughout their respective careers O’Sullivan has won 22 titles compared to Higgins 20. The last time the two clashed was in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals and O’Sullivan defeated Higgins 6-1 in the season’s first ranking event.
World number one O'Sullivan told the BBC: "John is one of the all-time greats and I think he's actually under-achieved. It sounds a strange thing to say, but it's because of how highly I rate him. He's the best tactical player ever - ahead of Steve Davis - plus he's a heavy break-builder, so he's got no weaknesses. Although he's won three world titles, his game is so well suited to the longer-frame tournaments that I would have expected him to win more. But he's come into this season automatically feeling full of confidence because he's world champion. That's how I was last year and it's a beautiful feeling."
Higgins is the reigning Grand Prix champion and will head into the tournament full of confidence as he performs in his native Scotland. He will start the defence of his title on Saturday against Mark Joyce who battled his way through Qualifying.
O’Sullivan has to wait until Tuesday to start his campaign, when he plays Jamie Burnett from Glasgow.
To win the Glasgow Grand Prix O’Sullivan is favourite at 3/1 with Blue sq. Higgins is 8/1 with Sky bet, while Murphy is 9/1 with Bet 365. Selby is 10/1 with Ladbrokes.
By Dane
