Ronnie O’Sullivan has backed Judd Trump as favourite to win the Masters, whilst expressing doubts about Mark Selby’s belief when facing the world number one.
The seven-time world champion, who withdrew from defending his Masters title, believes Trump deserves to be favourite for every tournament he enters.
O’Sullivan sees Selby as the second favourite following an impressive opening round victory over Ali Carter at Alexandra Palace.
However, the snooker legend suggests Selby faces a mental hurdle when competing against Trump, despite his current strong form.
Ronnie O’Sullivan feels Judd Trump is the favourite to win the Masters
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O’Sullivan drew a striking parallel between Selby’s struggles against Trump and a recent darts match.
“I don’t think Selby relishes playing Judd,” O’Sullivan said on Eurosport.
“I think it was like when Van Gerwen played Luke Littler. He looked like he didn’t want to be there, he didn’t fancy the job.”
The Rocket believes it’s purely a mental challenge for Selby to overcome.
“If Mark can get his head around playing Judd, and that’s all it is because they’re both amazing players, I think he’ll have a great chance, but he’s got to believe he can beat Judd and I’m not sure he quite believes it,” he added.
Despite his concerns about Selby’s mindset against Trump, O’Sullivan was effusive in his praise of the former’s current form.
Ronnie O’Sullivan used Luke Littler and Michael van Gerwen’s rivalry as an example
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“I don’t think I’ve seen Mark play this well for six or seven years maybe,” O’Sullivan remarked on Eurosport.
He particularly highlighted Selby’s all-round game: “He looks really, really sharp, his safety is always great and he’s scoring really well. You look at the reaction he’s getting out of the cue ball, he’s got all the shots at the moment.”
O’Sullivan emphasised the challenge of facing Selby: “It’s impossible to play against, really. You’d have to play like Judd Trump, really top class snooker, to put Selby under a little bit of pressure.”
The quarter-final line-up at Alexandra Palace sees Trump facing Ding Junhui, while Selby meets Mark Allen.
Shaun Murphy takes on Neil Robertson, and world champion Kyren Wilson plays Luca Brecel in the other matches.
Trump and Selby could only meet in the final, as they are drawn on opposite sides of the tournament.
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Ronnie O’Sullivan withdrew from the Masters last week
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Their previous Masters encounter saw Trump triumph 6-2 en route to his 2019 title.
Trump has won their last two meetings at the Grand Prix and UK Championship in 2023.
Selby’s most recent victory over Trump came at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, where he secured a convincing 6-1 quarter-final win.