'It's like Lionel Messi with the ball' - Ronnie O'Sullivan praises Judd Trump with comparison

ByDan Quarrell

Published 15/10/2020 at 20:29 GMT

Ronnie O'Sullivan compared Judd Trump's ability and skill to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi while standing alongside his rival in the Eurosport studio. Trump was back to his best as he eased past Gary Wilson 4-1 in the fourth round of the English Open and O'Sullivan, who was beaten by Matthew Stevens earlier in the day, was full of praise.

It's fair to say that world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was impressed with his rival Judd Trump at the English Open as he compared him to Lionel Messi.

Trump had needed to come from 3-1 down to win his previous three matches in Milton Keynes, but he looked in better touch on Thursday evening as he reached the quarter-finals.

The world number one will next face Kyren Wilson, who beat him in the World Snooker Championship quarter-finals in August, and O'Sullivan lauded his rival in the Eurosport studio after a day in which he lost to Matthew Stevens.

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'It's like Messi with the ball' - O'Sullivan praises Trump

"When you are making 60-breaks and it is taking you six, seven minutes and then the other guy [Trump] comes in and knocks in a 120 in about two minutes you think, 'what's happened there?'" O'Sullivan told Andy Goldstein with Trump alongside him.

"So all your hard work is undone very quickly, and it just puts your opponent on the back foot.

It's like Messi with the ball, it's mesmerising sometimes when someone does something so good and so quick. It's very hard to nullify that, no matter what you bring to the table.

Trump said of his play: "I'm just so relaxed out there, you don't really care, you just go for everything.

"It's sort of what you do in an exhibition, really. You just smash it and get the run off the cushion.

"It's hard to say you don't care, but there is no atmosphere and you don't feel any kind of pressure, so you play like you play in practice."

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