Neal Foulds snooker column: Eurosport and ITV pundit on the Players Championship

Snooker is in a really good place right now and Zhao Xintong’s sparkling victory at the German Masters, the event that precedes the upcoming Players Championship, only underlines that point.

As snooker fans were rubbing their hands together in anticipation of the next week’s blockbuster clash between Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan, the best player of the last two years facing off against the greatest player of all time, Zhao was putting on a show in Berlin that suggests he might himself one day climb to the top of the tree. Snooker is indeed in rude health.

Zhao’s success has come as no surprise to anyone who has watched this special talent closely over the last few years, but the penny has really dropped and he’s improving rapidly. He’s always been good, but his improvement over the last three months has been nothing short of phenomenal and for all he had to wait for his breakthrough, he will surely continue to be a major force for years to come.

Players Championship outright preview

I certainly never thought Zhao's UK Championship success would be a flash in the pan – he had enough chances to wilt under pressure in York – but you can only be impressed with the way he dug in there, and again last week when looking likely to fall 4-1 behind in his semi-final with Ricky Walden. On that occasion, he found a way to stay in a match he’d have probably lost a year ago, before finishing strongly. His performance a day later in the final was frightening.

Zhao could yet surpass Ding as China’s best

He’s now streets clear at the top of the 1 Year Ranking List, having picked up almost all of his points from two events: the UK Championship and the German Masters. He’s hardly won a match elsewhere, but there’s no doubting his liking for the big occasion, and we’ll now learn if he’s got the appetite to match his rich talent. If he has, he’ll be the best Chinese snooker player we’ve seen.

That’s no slight on Ding Junhui, the man who currently owns that title and who has enjoyed an outstanding career himself. But Zhao has so much scope that he could go right to the top and become world champion, something his compatriot hasn’t managed. If you love snooker, or sport in general, it’s always nice to see a talent fulfilled and that’s what we are now witnessing with Zhao.

What we’re also seeing is the growth of the game, an exciting chapter for snooker as it becomes a truly global sport. Snooker has been dominated by Britain and Ireland over the years – bar odd exceptions like past world champions Cliff Thorburn and Neil Robertson – and Asian involvement was largely unheard of until James Wattana made a name for himself in the 1990s.

But things are different now, with last week’s German Masters held in Berlin and the final contested by two Chinese players. The sport is growing in the Far East, and in Europe, and more success for someone like Luca Brecel will only help grow the game in countries like Belgium, similarly with Zhao in China. Snooker is reaching out to a new audience, and that is something to be celebrated.

Trump and O’Sullivan set to renew hostilities

If Zhao is the coming man, the heir to the throne, then that leads us nicely onto the Players Championship and that first-round clash between Trump and O’Sullivan, two men who might still claim to be king of the snooker castle. In O’Sullivan’s case, his reign has been long and unparalleled.

But playing Trump has always been a great challenge for O’Sullivan because this match has never been one the former has been intimidated by, and he invariably produces his best snooker against O’Sullivan. If anything, Trump has been the one who has been able to intimidate O’Sullivan in their more recent meetings and he again prevailed when they last met at the World Grand Prix in late 2020.

Given both players have continued to challenge for trophies, it’s slightly surprising they didn’t meet at all in 2021 and that only adds more spice to a match that promises to be a great spectacle. Trump beat O’Sullivan in three Northern Ireland Open finals between 2018 and 2020 but was on the wrong side of the result at the 2019 Tour Championship. That was one of the best matches I’ve ever seen and O’Sullivan’s emotional celebration at the end of a pulsating deciding frame told you just what the result meant to him.

I think this meeting, at this current time, presents O’Sullivan with another sound opportunity to beat Trump, whose own form has been patchy all season – Champion of Champions win apart – and sees him line up in 14th spot on the 1 Year Ranking List. In contrast, O’Sullivan has been largely consistent and he claimed the World Grand Prix title before Christmas.

Much has been made of Trump’s lack of recent success in the Triple Crown events, relative to his overall record, but so far this term he hasn’t been able to dominate the Home Nations events like he has become accustomed. When he’s playing at his best, few can touch him, but he’s struggled for consistency more recently and has lost some matches he just wasn’t losing last season. O’Sullivan will fancy his chances.

Challenges old and new for Trump

We’ve seen some great rivalries in snooker over the years and while O’Sullivan’s primary ones have been with John Higgins and Mark Williams, he and Trump have fought out some terrific battles over the years. That Tour Championship semi-final immediately springs to mind, but both players have enjoyed their big wins over one another and I think there will be a lot on the line here.

This is a huge event, and a particularly big week for Trump who now has Zhao snapping at him from one side and O’Sullivan’s constant presence towering over his other shoulder. He’ll be desperate to remind everyone who is boss, but it won’t be easy.

That match comes in the third quarter, with the winner set to play Kyren Wilson or Neil Robertson, while further down the bottom half of the draw, defending champion John Higgins and Luca Brecel are waiting in the wings.

Higgins was magnificent on the way to winning this tournament last year and he, along with O’Sullivan and fellow veteran Williams, has been in good form so far this term. With the likes of Mark Allen and Barry Hawkins also playing well in recent weeks, there really is no hiding place in an event full of high-class performers who have earned the right to be here.

Great champions past and present, old and young, from Britain to Europe and the Far East, next week has it all and if that’s just a glimpse of what the future of snooker has to offer, we can look forward with great excitement.

More from Neal Foulds

• Masters delivers tournament for the ages
• Ronnie ready for Masters bid
• Remarkable O'Sullivan thrills once again
• A star is born as Zhao realises potential
• Roll on York with Selby set to shine
• The best is yet to come from Robertson
• Allen prevails but Higgins a true great
• Belfast braced for Trump title defence