‘Ridiculous talent’ – Wilson on why O’Sullivan and Littler were born to win
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ByEurosport
Updated 09/08/2024 at 13:24 GMT
Gary Wilson feels any aspiring snooker player should be inspired by Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luke Littler, but not only because of their natural ability. 17-year-old Littler has claimed the Premier League title, invoking the spirit of O’Sullivan, who remains the youngest ranking event winner in green baize history with his iconic 10-6 victory over Stephen Hendry in the 1993 UK Championship final.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan and Luke Littler have found the key to sporting success because they can win under pressure, according to Scottish and Welsh Open champion Gary Wilson.
17-year-old darts prodigy Littler has been compared to snooker GOAT O’Sullivan by various commentators due to his natural talent with the tungsten, but world No. 11 Wilson feels that is the only half the battle in finding the winning formula.
Littler has certainly followed in the footsteps of seven-time world champion O’Sullivan by winning majors in his teenage years at the Premier League and reaching a world final at the age of 16.
But Wilson believes raw talent alone is not enough.
“Half of it is because the likes of Ronnie O’Sullivan or Luke Littler have ridiculous talent, the other half is that they can handle the pressure,” said Wilson, who is set to return to action at the inaugural Xi’an Open in China next week.
“Everyone else can handle the pressure, but it maybe takes more experience to do it. You can’t just bully your way through a field.
“It is frustrating that I’ve taken so long to get there and then the last few months haven’t panned out as I would have wished. I need to find my game and get it back up to scratch.
“I do know deep down though that having started winning it is there and I have the opportunity now to push on and try to win another bigger tournament.”
Wilson aims to get his season up and running when he faces Belgian talent Ben Mertens in the last 64 of the inaugural Xi’an Open (19-15 August) in China next Monday.
The former World Championship semi-finalist lost 6-5 to Pang Junxu in the first round of the Shanghai Masters, but completed two dramatic 5-4 qualifying wins on the final black over Long Zehuang in the Xi’an Open 5-4 and Alexander Ursenbacher in the Wuhan Open.
“It is pleasing just to get through these China qualifiers,” said Wilson on WST. “It wasn’t good viewing at all, I must say. It was a case of scraping through in deciders, on the black each time. It wasn’t pretty at all, but I was just happy to get through those two games as they were very important ones.
“Overall I have to accept that I have the results on the board. I hope I can work over the next few weeks and get my game into a decent position. So far that hasn’t been the case at all.”
Watch Wilson’s maximum 147 break against Higgins in Welsh Open semi-final
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