Ronnie O’Sullivan expressed his love for China after striking another city off his list by visiting Nanjing for the International Championship.
The lucrative ranking event is taking place in the capital of Jiangsu province for the first time this season.
O’Sullivan skipped the last three tournaments on the calendar but is back in action this week with two victories already under his belt.
The Rocket beat women’s world number one Mink Nutcharut in his held-over fixture from qualifying on Sunday before recording a 6-2 triumph against He Guoqiang on Monday.
That takes O’Sullivan through to the last 32 where he’ll face Pang Junxu, as he continues his quest to secure a first piece of silverware of the campaign.
Even though he will be busy competing on the table, the 48 year-old possesses a well-known affinity for China and he will be taking time away from his schedule there to take in the sights of the area.
“It’s a new city (for me). I was out there this morning, we went to the lake – an amazing lake, beautiful,” Ronnie O’Sullivan told the World Snooker Tour.
“I mean, I would just recommend anybody to come to China. It blows me away. Every city I come, they always take me somewhere that I go wow.”
“It’s like you’re in another world. It’s an amazing place. I’m probably going to go to the river tomorrow night, so that’s going to be another experience.
“But the place that I went to today was just unbelievable. For me, it’s the best place in the world. There is no other place like China.
“Every city just has something amazing about it, and Nanjing has a lot of history. But listen, forget about going on holidays anywhere else. Just come to China.
“Come and visit some of their most important cities where all the dynasties were. You’ve been here yourself, I bet you go home and tell people how wonderful it is.
“I always tell people that they have to come to China. For me, it’s the greatest place on earth.”
O’Sullivan revealed last week that he had accepted residency status in Hong Kong, although it’s uncertain whether or not he intends to move there permanently.
The International Championship, meanwhile, is well under way with 32 runners left vying for the 2024 title.
Defending champion Zhang Anda survived a titanic tussle against Ishpreet Singh Chadha in his held-over qualifying round fixture before beating David Grace in the round of 64.
World number one Judd Trump and world champion Kyren Wilson have also safely booked their spots in the third round of the competition.
Indeed, there are plenty of marquee names still chasing glory – including Mark Allen, Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Mark Williams, Ding Junhui, and Neil Robertson.
Robertson produced four century breaks in a breathtaking 6-0 destruction of Fan Zhengyi on Monday, with the Australian boosting his chances of securing an automatic spot at the UK Championship in the process.
The top 16 in the world rankings after this week’s event will definitely feature at the venue stages of the season’s opening Triple Crown tournament.
Home favourite Ding also powered through with a resounding 6-1 defeat of Martin O’Donnell to sustain his hopes of winning a ranking title for the first time since 2019.
Xiao Guodong and Si Jiahui, who recently contested the final of the last ranking event in China that took place in Wuhan, are both still involved as well.
Live coverage is available for viewers in the UK and Ireland on discovery+ and Eurosport.
2024 International Championship
Tuesday, November 5th
Round of 32 (bo11)
6:30am UTC
Matthew Stevens vs John Higgins
Chris Wakelin vs Shaun Murphy
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Pang Junxu
Ali Carter vs Jackson Page
Jack Lisowski vs Si Jiahui
Judd Trump vs Joe O’Connor
Robbie Williams vs Gary Wilson
Noppon Saengkham vs Mark Selby
11:30am UTC
Zhang Anda vs Lyu Haotian
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Mark Williams
Xiao Guodong vs Mark Allen
Xu Si vs Ryan Day
Jiang Jun vs Yuan Sijun
Ding Junhui vs Hossein Vafaei
Barry Hawkins vs Neil Robertson
Wu Yize vs Kyren Wilson
Click here to view the full draw
(snooker.org)
Featured photo credit: WST
