Snooker news: 'Ronnie O'Sullivan is only player I'd pay to watch' – Mark Williams on why Rocket is the GOAT
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ByEurosport
Updated 30/09/2021 at 11:12 GMT
Mark Williams has paid tribute to his fellow 'Class of '92' rivals Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins by insisting there is plenty of life left in his fellow multiple world champions. The new British Open champion also insists O'Sullivan is the undisputed greatest player of all time and the only man playing the game he'd pay money to watch.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan is the undisputed greatest player of all time and the only fellow snooker professional three-times world champion Mark Williams would pay money to watch.
Williams has made an impressive start to the new campaign by lifting the British Open title in August, but expects record 37-times ranking event winner O'Sullivan to get back into the winning habit after enduring a rare trophyless campaign last term.
O'Sullivan reached five finals last season and is ranked at three in the world ahead of next month's Northern Ireland Open LIVE on Eurosport.
"He's the best player I've ever seen in my life," said Williams.
I've played with him since I was 10 and he's still going like myself. He's probably the only snooker player I'd pay to watch.
Williams will celebrate his 30th year as a professional alongside his great rivals O'Sullivan and John Higgins in January and does not expect those green baize icons to be slowing down in the chase for further glory.
With 13 world titles between them since 1998, they have won over half the Crucible titles in the past 23 years.
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"The players coming through aren't good enough to knock us off our perch, if you want to put it that way," said Williams on WST.
"We also had a lot of grounding growing up, but these youngsters have no decent amateur tournaments to play in really.
"They are just turning professional, coming up against the top players and getting beaten. We had really good grounding. There were tournaments everywhere. U18, U21s..every weekend there was something.
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'It's amazing!' - Hendry on the longevity of O'Sullivan and Higgins
"That has something to do with our longevity. The other reason could be is that the other players just aren't good enough to knock, especially Higgins and O'Sullivan, off their perch.
That pair could be at the top of the rankings for however long they want to be. There is no question.
"It is just about how much work they want to put in to stay up there."
At the age of 46, Williams has his own targets for the new campaign and the world number eight believes he has the ability to remain at the top of the game
"I think if I dedicated myself to it, I know I could get right up to the top of the rankings," added the Welshman, world champion in 2000, 2003 and 2018 in a show of astonishing longevity. "Maybe not number one, but I could get close to it.
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"But I'm not prepared to do what I have to do to get as high as that. I'll do two hours a day rather than worry about winning tournaments and just enjoy it.
I'm saying now I'll not play six or seven hours a day, but that could change. In six months' time, I could say I'm back playing nine or ten hours a day.
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