Mark Selby says snooker will survive a future without Ronnie O’Sullivan but admits the Rocket brings a unique atmosphere to tournaments.
O’Sullivan was beaten 6-4 by Zhou Yuelong in his UK Championship opener on Tuesday, losing in the first round for the second year on the bounce.
The seven-time world champion turns 50 this week and is playing a reduced schedule of mainly events in China and the Middle East.
This week’s visit to the Barbican in York was the first time he has played in the UK since his World Championship semi-final defeat to Zhao Xintong in May.
There is no real sign that O’Sullivan is set to hang up his cue at the moment, ranked five in the world and saying that he is still enjoying the game.
However, there will come a time at which the Rocket heads into retirement and Selby says that something will be lost from events.
‘For me, it’s always great when Ronnie is in a tournament,’ he said after beating Lei Peifan 6-2 on Tuesday in the same session as O’Sullivan’s loss. ‘It has that extra vibe.
‘Even just playing there, being in the same session, with the crowd you get that atmosphere which you don’t really get with any other player.
‘No disrespect to any other players on the tour, even myself, we’re all top players, but you don’t get that atmosphere with anyone else. If I’d have been playing with [John] Higgins on the next table or [Mark] Williams or Judd [Trump] or [Zhao] Xintong, even them guys, as good as they are, you still don’t get that atmosphere.’
The 42-year-old is backing the younger players on tour to bring in the crowds in future, though, naming a string of stars who play exciting snooker.
Asked if a snooker world without the Rocket is a concern, he said: ‘No, because we’ve still got some great players coming through.
‘Xintong is still very young (28), Judd (36) is still young, Kyren (33). We’ve still got some great players to watch. [Jack] Lisowski (34) is very, very similar to Ronnie in how he plays.
‘The game will still survive when Ronnie goes. It’ll be a shame, of course, because he has given so much to the game and he’s the greatest player to ever play the game.
‘Hopefully he just carries on playing, he seems like he still enjoys it, or else he wouldn’t be playing. As long as he stays healthy I’m sure he’ll carry on.’
Selby would have met O’Sullivan in the last 16 if the Rocket had progressed, but instead he takes on Zhou for a place in the quarter-finals.
‘If you play Ronnie it would have been a great occasion and a tough game,’ he said. ‘Zhou’s obviously playing some decent stuff to beat Ronnie as well, he’s a great player himself.
‘Whoever I play it’s going to be a tough game. It would’ve been great to play Ronnie here in York, but not to be.’
Selby looks in very good form at the moment, after winning the Champion of Champions last month, and says he feels as good as he has done for a long time.
‘I feel like I’m somewhere close,’ he said on how near he is to his best. ‘It would be nice to have a run in these big ones because it’s been a few years since I’ve had a run in these Triple Crown events.
‘I’m playing some decent stuff and I’m fancying the big shots when I’m under it, which is key, because that’s been a little while before I’ve been in that position. I’m playing alright so let’s see what happens.’