Ronnie O’Sullivan is chasing a sixth UK Championship title this week as he gears up to face Michael White on Tuesday but his focus appears to be on changing the structure of ranking tournaments. The world number four has eased through the opening couple of rounds in York seeing off Jackson Page 6-3 before beating Cypriot Michael Georgiou 6-1 on Sunday.
O’Sullivan looked in good form against Georgiou as he hit breaks of 57, 68, 69 and 82 in York but he is likely to face a sterner test on Tuesday. World number 26 White survived a scare in his opening-round clash against Ross Muir, having edged the match 6-5, while he made easy work of his round-two match, which included some impressive breaks of 142 and 103, to beat Englishman Matthew Selt 6-1. ‘The Rocket’ will undoubtedly go into Tuesday’s match as the favourite but it is likely to prove a tougher test of his credentials as he bids to become the joint most successful player in UK Championship history by joining Steven Davis on six titles.
However, it appears his focus for now at least is on trying to change to schedule at ranking tournaments, which he feels could be easily wrapped up inside four days. “It’s easier,” O’Sullivan told Eurosport. “I think these tournaments, it should be done in maybe four days. We [could] all play two matches in one day, best of sevens. “It gives you a bit of time to get a bit of rhythm and you feel like you can get some snooker under your belt and maybe play the final on the fourth day, or something like that. I like it. It’s pure snooker.” O’Sullivan is priced as the 2/13 favourite to win Tuesday’s meeting with White, who can be backed at 15/4 to progress at the UK Championship.
UK Championship odds available at Dafabet.