O’Sullivan talks about his experience in Saudi Arabia
“I think it’s great here, I love the Middle East, I love the culture,” Lockett said.
“It’s always nice to come to a place where you can relax and enjoy your time.
“The fans are buzzing. They watch you on TV and it’s great for them to see you in real life too. There’s always a buzz when you go to the club.
“I think all the players are excited. We have a lot of tournaments. It’s great to be able to play in a prestigious tournament.
“This is one of them, the top 12 players in the world. Every match is like a final.
“I choose the tournaments I want to play in. I choose four to five during the season and use the rest as practice to stay sharp.
“At least I hope to do well in other tournaments.”
Today’s schedule
Today is the last day of the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker event!
Here’s how everything goes later:
Mark Allen vs. Luca Bressel (3pm GMT) and Judd Trump vs. Ronnie O’Sullivan (4pm GMT) are the semi-finals.
The winners will then play against each other in the finals from 7pm!
golden ball rocket
Ahead of his run to the last eight, O’Sullivan spoke about the Gold Ball, which would give him a mega bonus of £400,000 if potted correctly after 147.
he laughed. “I’ve owned a few 167s, and that’s what I drove. I don’t know about putting a 167 on the table. But listen, it’s possible.
“If you win, there will be great prizes. There is a big motive behind that.
“When the opportunity presents itself, obviously you have to give it a try.
“We all want to win tournaments. But if you have a chance to get 167…I mean, getting 147 is a big challenge. Even more so to get the gold ball out of the balk cushion. It’s a big challenge.
“When the opportunity arises, you should definitely try it.”
O’Sullivan 4-0 Higgins report
Ronnie O’Sullivan didn’t have a gold ball finish, but he did bring a golden touch in his first appearance in Saudi Arabia.
But it was an eye-watering performance as Rocket won his quarter-final match against John Higgins at 3am local time!
If someone has the ability to compile a 147 and try to sink the controversial 20 point gold ball (unique to this event, placed on a balk cushion), that’s seven worlds Snooker champion.
But even his mercurial talent and magic cue action could not stop the world No. 1 from achieving glory in his biggest break in the Middle East and then his maiden 167 break.
Nevertheless, he showed the locals why he is the best ever, posting fast breaks of 135, 129, 102, 82 in this 4-0 whitewash.
midnight selby
Well, it’s a nickname that’s likely to stick. Ronnie O’Sullivan nicknames Mark Selby ‘Midnight Selby’ and says he is a nightmare to follow in a match.
The match between Selby and Mark Allen ended 5-4 for Allen, contributing to the match taking quite a long time and ending at 3am tonight in Riyadh.
O’Sullivan said: “I call him Midnight Selby because every game Mark plays is past midnight. It’s a nightmare. You don’t want to chase Mark because it’s the next day.” Ta.
“I prefer that.”
Does Ronnie have plans to reside in Saudi Arabia? Looks like he doesn’t care about that!
“I like it better,” he told Eurosport. [to playing in UK tournaments]. I don’t drink alcohol or go to parties, so this is a great place for me. In the UK, drinking in pubs is mainstream, so that’s not my thing. When you come to a place like this, you can relax and have a good time. ”