World Grand Prix 2024: “I don’t think age really matters” – Ronnie O’Sullivan reacts to winning third title

Ronnie O’Sullivan said age doesn’t matter on the table and he feels younger than he actually is when playing snooker.

The victory gave O’Sullivan three major titles in just 50 days, adding to the British Championship and Masters titles he won in December and early January.

Speaking to ITV Sport after the final, O’Sullivan said being at the snooker table was when he felt his 48 years at a loss.

“When I play snooker, I feel younger in my mind,” he said. “I know he’s 48 years old, but he feels like he’s about 20 years older when he starts playing.

“I feel very vibrant. I don’t think age really matters as long as I still feel young at the table. It helps because I have experience. I have a lot of experience now. , has won many tournaments, and has been active for a while.

“I’ve learned a lot about this game. I think I’m probably a better all-around player than I’ve ever been.”

O’Sullivan made a stunning comeback in the final, overcoming a 4-0 deficit that opened up due to Trump’s quick start and some sloppy mistakes from the world No. 1.

He was able to pick up 3 frames in the afternoon session and fell behind 5-3 in the intermediate stages, but it was in the evening session that he picked up the pace, recovering to 6 frames each and heading towards victory. I gained momentum. There’s a slight blip in his penultimate frame.

It has often been said that O’Sullivan has moved on from the sport, but it was refreshing to hear him say he enjoyed fighting the Bristol ‘warrior’.

“It was fun. It was really fun and I enjoyed the match,” said the now three-time champion.

“I was feeling a little sick at the beginning of the week, but I bought myself an air fryer and a smoothie maker. I was eating a little better and started feeling better.” [better]. I don’t like eating junk food, it puts me in a bit of a weird place.

“As the week went on, I started to feel better. Last night I played my best snooker ever against Ding. I went into the match today with confidence because I felt good against the opponent. “I knew I had to make a play, or at least do something good,” Judd said.

“[He] We were blown out of the table 4-0 so we thought this was going to be an early night. 10 to 1 job. I managed to cut out a few frames this afternoon. 5-3 gave me a little bit of optimism. I thought why not come out and see what happens and have some fun with the fight. Because he has to fight Judd because Judd is a warrior.

“For me, he is the favorite to win this year’s world championship.”

On the topic of the Sheffield tournament, O’Sullivan stressed the need for consistency during the three-month preparation period.

“I need consistency heading into Sheffield so I’ve spent the next three months trying to get consistency into my game,” he said.

“You don’t have to play great to win, you just have to be consistent. I’d like to find a little bit of consistency between now and then and go to Sheffield and have some fun. I’ll try to have some fun for a change of pace. Sounds good.”

Trump, a two-time losing finalist in the tournament, didn’t think he started the match that well despite racing out a four-frame lead.

“The start wasn’t very good,” he said. “I made some mistakes and Ronnie made some mistakes too. The standard wasn’t very good but Ronnie cleaned up when he needed to.

“There were some important frames, he made some important breaks and made some really good clearances. His safety was much better tonight. He finished first and scored a little bit too. it was high.”

“There were a lot of ups and downs in the second session. Some balls – I think the black was a bit of a kick to make it 7-7 – and I rattled the brown there. He’s heavier Got the score. His long potting was really good tonight. It’s a well-deserved win for him.

“It’s never good to lose, but it was good to have another final with Ronnie. It’s always fun to play with him and it’s always a good match.”