Ronnie O’Sullivan stayed behind in Nanjing to work with 14-year-old snooker prodigy Michal Szubarczyk, despite being knocked out of the International Championship. O’Sullivan, 49, was defeated by Jack Lisowski in the third round in the Far East.
He lost a black ball decider in the final frame of his clash with Lisowski, who recently won the Northern Ireland Open to pick up his first ever major ranking title. O’Sullivan had squandered many match-winning chances to book himself a quarter-final meeting with Barry Hawkins. Nevertheless, instead of looking to leave China as quickly as possible, he agreed to lend some words of wisdom and advice to Szubarcyk, who is looking like one of the most exciting young players to take to the baize since O’Sullivan himself
The teenage Pole is the youngest professional player on the World Snooker Tour, but he has already been making an impact in his first season as a pro. Victoria Shi, of Sheffield’s Victoria’s Snooker Academy, uploaded a picture of O’Sullivan working with the teenage star on the table.
Szubarczyk won the European Under-16 and Under-18 Championships before a run to the final of an open age event saw him earn his tour card. After watching him play, Mark Williams compared the youngster to O’Sullivan, who is the youngest ever player to win a ranking event, having scooped up the UK Championship in 1993 when he was 17 years and 358 days old.
Williams told the Metro in March: “I was in Turkey watching the Europeans, I watched a young boy there and came back and told everyone in the club that this is one of the best 14-year-olds I’ve ever seen in my life. Up there with O’Sullivan. Maybe not as good, but not far away.
“Every time I watched him he was knocking in 80s, 90s, 100s. It was frightening. I was speaking to John Higgins up in Telford and said: ‘Watch out for this kid, it’s something I haven’t seen for donkey’s!’”
O’Sullivan has previously told snooker players he is happy to make himself available to those who want to pick his brains about the sport. The Rocket told the Metro: “I’d love to help out and try and get some of the grassroots in the UK going and take some players under my wing. Try and re-establish ourselves as a top snooker nation.”
When asked if anybody has ever asked him for any advice, he added: “No, no one, really. Yeah…no one, really. Victoria [Shi] reached out to me, she always does to help a player. You need to spend time on a table with someone to really be able to help them properly.
“So no one’s come, but I always offer advice to some of the players, not mentioning any names, but because I like them and I want to see them do well.
“And I just think it’s always handy to have someone that’s been there done it and can pass on a bit of good advice, you know?”