Scottish snooker sensation John Higgins has suggested that Ronnie O’Sullivan might be “annoyed” by comparisons to himself and Mark Williams. With O’Sullivan and Higgins both 49 years old and Williams recently turning 50, the trio are amongst the oldest players at the 2025 World Snooker Championship.
Williams and Higgins booked their places in the third round with tense victories over Hossein Vafaei and Xiao Guodong, respectively. O’Sullivan also looks to be on the verge of doing the same thing, having opened up a sizeable advantage over Pang Junxu. The experienced trio are all proving that age is not a factor when your potting is on top form. But while their ages result in inevitable comparisons, Higgins believes he should not be mentioned in the same breath as the Rocket.
In a conversation with Eurosport, Higgins was asked if he ever feels “cheesed off” by comparisons to Williams and O’Sullivan. He said: “I’ll be brutally honest, I think Ronnie would get cheesed off.
“Ronnie has elevated himself away from the likes of me and Mark. That is where my thinking would be. He’s won a hell of a lot. I think me and Mark would be pleased.”
Higgins’ comment displayed his natural humility and humbleness when compared to a player who is widely considered to be the greatest of all time. Moreover, when their careers are concerned, Higgins is not light years away from O’Sullivan.
O’Sullivan is tied with Stephen Hendry on seven world titles, but Higgins is not far behind with four world championships – only Steve Davis, Hendry and O’Sullivan have more than the Wizard from Wishaw. Meanwhile, Williams has not done too badly himself with three world titles.
O’Sullivan is looking to move ahead of Hendry and has enjoyed the perfect start in Sheffield. He surprised everybody, including himself, by blowing Ali Carter away 10-4, despite coming into the Crucible with only one victory in 2025.
He had also pulled himself out of the Welsh Open and the German Masters at the last minute in the weeks and months before. After his ruthless performance over Carter, the snooker great admitted his performances have defied his own expectations.
He said: “I had no expectations so there were no nerves, I didn’t expect to perform well based on the past three or four years. I just wanted to make a game of it.”
The draw has also opened up in his favour, with the exits of Zhang Anda, Mark Selby and Mark Allen, who were beaten by Junxu, Ben Woollaston, and Chris Wakelin respectively, while the latter also defeated former champion Neil Robertson.
