Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Williams have great respect for each other despite the occasional disagreement during their years at the top of snooker.
Mark Williams once accused Ronnie O'Sullivan of disrespecting him and other snooker professionals. The two legends, who form part of the renowned Class of '92, could meet in the World Championship final following their respective quarter-final victories.
The Welsh Potting Machine thrillingly defeated John Higgins, the third member of their iconic trio, while the Rocket triumphed 13-9 over Chinese star Si Jiahui. Williams, 50, meets world number one Judd Trump in the semi-finals, while O'Sullivan, 49, will face qualifier Zhao Xintong. Despite their long-standing rivalry spanning over three decades, there's a significant amount of mutual respect between Williams and O'Sullivan. However, occasional disagreements have arisen, such as during the 2020 World Championship when O'Sullivan made a scathing comment about the quality of lower-ranked players.
Prior to his quarter-final victory over Williams, he remarked that he would need to "lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50". He said: "People like me, John Higgins and Mark Williams, if you look at the younger players coming through, they are not that good really.
"Most of them would do well as half-decent amateurs, not even amateurs. They are so bad. That is why we are still hovering around, because of how poor it is down that end."
Williams did not take kindly to the remarks, telling BBC Sport: "I understand what he was saying that the standard's no good, but that's compared to him. He's including me in that.
"He is the pioneer for our sport. He is the main man, without doubt, and the best player in the world. You'd never have another top sportsman in their field sort of disrespecting or slagging off the rest of the tour.
"There's no one on the tour that's as good as him, but it's unfair to class everyone else in his standards because it's not going to happen. And for him to have a go at the lower-ranked players, I think, is a bit naughty."
The relationship between the pair took a unique turn earlier this season as they used the same coach, Lee Walker. O'Sullivan sought out Williams' long-time coach as he struggled for form.
However, those coaching sessions didn't coincide with a resurgence for the seven-time world champion, who has barely played over the second half of the season since smashing his cue and dumping it in a bin at the Championship League in January.
That caused Williams, who is renowned for his dry sense of humour, to quip at the Welsh Open in February: "Well, he's doing well with Ronnie at the minute... Ronnie's pulled out of the last five tournaments and snapped his cue!" He then jokingly added: "It's all a masterplan to get him out of the way."
Three-time Crucible king Williams holds O'Sullivan and Higgins in high regard, placing them above himself despite his own considerable achievements. Reflecting on the Class of '92 moniker after triumphing over Higgins, he said (via SportsBoom): "I've never really liked it. I've always said that those two are the best players in the world ever."
In an interview with the Yorkshire Post in 2023, Williams also highlighted how his personality diverges from O'Sullivan's, especially when it comes to media attention. He said: "Ronnie likes to get in the headlines, I'm the total opposite.
"I don't even want to do any interviews in the lead-up to this [the World Championship]. I'm only here now because I'd get fined by World Snooker!"
.jpg)
0 Nhận xét