Chris Wakelin has finally found his snooker nickname and Ronnie O’Sullivan can be thanked for it.
The 33-year-old took on the Rocket in the Saudi Arabia Masters semi-finals in August, a match which will be remembered for O’Sullivan’s pair of 147s in a stunning 6-3 victory, which also saw him make breaks of 142, 134, 70, 67 and 50.
Despite the ridiculous break-building from the Rocket, Wakelin was right in the game at 3-3 and O’Sullivan was very impressed by his opponent.
‘He’s a monster,’ O’Sullivan said of Wakelin after the match in Jeddah. ‘I said he’s going to win a ranking event, he’s so solid. He’s better than solid, solid is a compliment, he’s very reliable but he’s got more than that.
‘It’s like Kyren Wilson. As a player he’s very hard to break down. He’s a superb competitor, superb player.’
Asked if O’Sullivan’s praise had reached him, Wakelin says it has ushered in a brand new nickname.
‘He described me as a monster,’ Wakelin told Metro. ‘All my friends now call me The Monster, so I think the nickname’s finally been born.
‘After 12 years on tour with no nickname, 10 seconds with a microphone in front of Ronnie, I think he’s come up with it.’
He added: ‘Getting through to the semis in Saudi was phenomenal, but I don’t want that to be the defining moment in the season. I still want to go on and push to win trophies.
‘It’s lovely to hear someone like Ronnie saying that about me, but it’s all talk until you actually physically go out there and do it and you’ve got that trophy in your hands.
‘All that chat doesn’t matter because there’s been plenty of players in the past who’ve had, “they’re going to do this, they’re going to do that.” Well, go out there and prove it!’
Revenge on the world champ
Wakelin downed both Barry Hawkins and world champion Zhao Xintong in deciding frames during that Saudi run, gaining some revenge over Zhao after defeats at the Crucible and Shanghai Masters this year.
‘He’s an enigma now. He’s got that aura about him,’ Wakelin said of Zhao. ‘The same as Ronnie does, the same as Judd does when I play him. I put him on that pedestal.
‘I don’t really think of the Saudi run in terms of what happened against Ronnie. It was everything before that. Sometimes with this game, you run into a brick wall, and that’s what Ronnie O’Sullivan was that day. But it was a brilliant run.’
Wakelin is not dwelling on Jeddah, though, and admits things have been disappointing since then, with early exits at the English Open, British Open and Xi’an Grand Prix, where he says defeat to amateur player Zhang Hao was ‘like rolling back the clock 20 years to how well I played when I was 12 years old.’
But there is no panic from the world number 16 and he is focussed on turning results around at a string of big tournaments before the end of 2025.
‘In terms of the season so far, it’s not actually been great for me,’ he admitted.
‘I’ve only had one tournament that I’ve done anything in at all, obviously the Saudi Arabia Masters was the one you want to do it in, but I’m still looking for that little spark to get this season underway. There’s still four tournaments between now and Christmas, so let’s get stuck in.’
Aiming for another deep run in Belfast
Wakelin’s first opportunity to spark back into life is at the Northern Ireland Open, which has started well, with a 4-1 win over Lan Yuhao in his opener on Sunday.
He reached the final in Belfast two years ago and would love to be back in the one-table set-up at the stunning Waterfront Hall arena.
‘It’s a phenomenal venue here in Belfast,’ he said. ‘We’re very lucky that we get to come here on the World Snooker Tour. I was fortunate enough to get through to the final a couple of years ago and experience it for all its glory with a packed house.
‘The arena is just incredible how there’s so many different layers to the audience, and it goes back as far as the eye can see. The noise in there when it gets down to that one-table set-up is phenomenal. But we’ve still got a few more matches to go this week before we get to that stage.’
The Monster was delighted to see that even his 10am start against teenager Lan attracted a healthy crowd.
‘It’s not like Jimmy White was playing. It was me!’ Wakelin said. ‘I couldn’t believe how many people were sat there watching. It’s brilliant.
‘I love how well supported these Home Nations events are and it’s testament to the work that World Snooker have done to build these events over the last nine or ten years now.’
Wakelin takes on Tom Ford in the last 32 in Belfast after his win over Lan.