Ronnie O'Sullivan says Judd Trump leading the charge of the young guns from Zhao Xintong and Yan Bingtao
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Updated 21/10/2022 at 09:57 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan is still leading the charge for the older brigade in snooker, but he feels Judd Trump is the head of the chase among the younger generation. The Home Nations series is back with the Northern Ireland Open and it is live and exclusive on discovery+. You can also watch Seventh Heaven, a two-part show about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s historic World Championship win last season, on demand.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan has claimed Judd Trump is still the leader of the younger generation in snooker.
A debate has begun with regard to who will take on the baton when the likes of O’Sullivan, John Higgins, Mark Williams and Neil Robertson fade from the scene.
Chinese sensations Yan Bingtao - the Masters winner in 2021 - and Zhao Xintong, last season’s UK Championship and German Masters victor, have been tipped to dominate the game.
Robertson said he feels Bingtao and Xintong will be the ‘flagbearers’ in the years ahead.
Speaking to Eurosport, Robertson said: “If I were to pick young flagbearers, I will pick players in their 20s, I think Xintong and Bingtao, for sure. They are the two that really want it.
“With Xintong it seems to have finally clicked with him with his practice. I remember going to the academy and he was potting long balls and had his mobile phone on the side and was scrolling through, would then play a few and then back on social media. I thought he has no chance unless he sorts that out. He clearly has done.
“Bingtao is a practice machine and wants to be the best he can be, so it’s those two for me.”
Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan has always talked positively about the talents of Bingtao and Xintong, even taking the latter under his wing to develop his game, but feels Trump must be in the conversation with regard to the younger generation.
“They [Bingtao and Xintong] are still going to have to get the better of Judd,” O’Sullivan said in the Eurosport studio at the Northern Ireland Open. “Judd is only 32 (sic, 33) so is only seven years older than Zhao Xintong.
“I would imaging he [Xintong] is going to have to improve his game a lot, to learn how to win matches under pressure.
“Bingtao has a better temperament than Xintong, so he is always going to be up for the fight like (Mark) Selby."
Trump burst onto the scene over a decade ago, winning the UK Championship in 2011. He has gone on to complete the triple crown of Masters and World Championship.
He turned 33 in August, but O'Sullivan feels the former world No. 1 has lots more to achieve in the sport.
“Judd is still a young player," O'Sullivan said. "These two [Bingtao and Xintong] are young and I think them three will be the top players once the older guys fade away.”
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The Home Nations series is back with the Northern Ireland Open and it is live and exclusive on discovery+. You can also watch Seventh Heaven, a two-part show about Ronnie O’Sullivan’s historic World Championship win last season, on demand now
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