Ronnie O'Sullivan has named Sam Craigie as his new favourite player - tipping the Tyneside star to win a breakthrough title.
Craigie, 28, has long been considered a huge snooker talent but he made his mark at this month's UK Championship in York, where he knocked out defending champion Zhao Xintong on his impressive run to the quarter-finals.
The world no.37 is high on confidence and qualified for the German Masters with victories over Stephen Maguire and Jamie Clarke after his last-eight defeat to eventual winner Mark Allen at the Barbican Centre.
Craigie was effusive in his praise of seven-time world champion O'Sullivan in a recent interview with Mirror Sport, and The Rocket has now returned the favour with a big prediction for the in-form potter. The Newcastle-born cueist has been earmarked by O'Sullivan as a potential ranking event winner in the near future.
"He’s my new favourite player," O’Sullivan told Eurosport. "I was looking down the ranking list the other day and there’s five or six players (aged) 27-32 - the new good players and he’s definitely one of them. I think he’s going to win a tournament in the next year or 18 months. He’s got a great cue action. I like his game a lot."
Eurosport pundit Alan McManus backed up O'Sullivan's claim: "I certainly believe he’s going to be the next non-winner so far to win a ranking event."
Craigie edged through to the second round at the Scottish Open and is looking to make further inroads in the rankings with another positive week in Edinburgh. But Craigie has insisted that no current snooker player can ever come close to the irrepressible O'Sullivan.
(O'Sullivan's) on his own level, you can’t even describe it," he told Mirror Sport during the UK Championship. "You play some of the other top players and they just don’t put you under that sort of pressure. I don’t know how it does it - he’s just got something and gives off his energy that puts you bang under it."
Craigie also leapt to O'Sullivan's defence after the world No.1 came under fire from Shaun Murphy for being a bad ambassador for the snooker. Murphy was riled by O'Sullivan's apparent ambivalent attitude towards the game that has made him a multi-millionaire, but Craigie believes the legendary 46-year-old can 'do what he wants'.
“When it comes to doing things for the sport he’s the one that sells the tickets, he’s the one that brings the money in really," Craigie added. "Maybe he could do more but he can do what he wants. He’s the man that everyone wants to beat and if it wasn’t for him who knows how many tickets venues would sell."
