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Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins in disagreement over World Championship finalist

Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins are two titans of snooker but the pair don't see eye to eye on one thing

[Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins shake hands after their match on day ten of the Halo World Snooker Championship 2026 at the Crucible Theatre]

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Ronnie O'Sullivan and John Higgins disagree over Wu Yize(Image: PA)

Ronnie OSullivan and John Higgins disagree over which snooker legend rising star Wu Yize is most similar to. Higgins believes Wu shares similarities with Paul Hunter, while the Rocket insists he sees him as an improved Steve Davis.

Wu is currently taking on 2005 world champion Shaun Murphy for the biggest prize of all in the 2026 World Snooker Championship final. The 22-year-old prodigy has the chance to become one of the youngest snooker world champions in history in Mondays showpiece at the Crucible Theatre.

Unsurprisingly, Wus magnificent displays in recent weeks, which have seen him overcome Mark Allen, Hossein Vafaei and Mark Selby, have set tongues wagging in the world of snooker.

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The Chinese talent has been seen as a standout prospect for some time, having been named the World Snooker Tours Rookie of the Year in May 2022. He came close to winning his first title in 2024 but lost finals at both the English Open and Scottish Open.

Wu finally won his first ranking title and the first professional title of his career at the 2025 International Championship, where he beat the legendary Higgins 10-6 in the final. Following that performance, Higgins dubbed Wu snookers "new superstar".

But perhaps even bigger praise was that the Scot compared his new rival to Hunter. Hunter won the Masters three times before losing his battle to a rare form of cancer in 2006 at the age of 27.

Higgins said of Wu following his defeat: "He reminds me so much of the late, great Paul Hunter, the way he plays the game. It goes to show the good hands snooker is in.

"Hes a new superstar. Im glad that Ill probably be retiring in a couple of years with guys like that potting them off the lampshades. He is a total star."

[Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize with the World Snooker Championship]

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Shaun Murphy and Wu Yize [R] are battling for the World Snooker Championship title(Image: Tai Chengzhe, VCG via Getty Images)

However, OSullivan, whose World Championship run this year was ended by Higgins in a second-round classic, disagreed. The Rocket likened Wu to another all-time great - six-time world champion Davis.

He said recently: "I think Wu Yize is going be the number one in the world within three years. Hell definitely be world champion very quickly. Phenomenal player.

"A lot of people liken him to Paul Hunter but hes more like a modern day Steve Davis. When I say modern day, I mean he is more dynamic, more cue power, more aggressive and more scoring power.

[The Masters snooker final February 2004 England's Paul Hunter in action during The Masters final against England's Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Wembley Conference Centre, London, Sunday February 8, 2004.]

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Paul Hunter was a huge talent before his sad passing(Image: PA)

"But his positional play for me is on the same level as Steve Davis. I practiced with him for two or three days not long ago. Its not until you practice with someone that you can really appreciate how good they are.

"After day two I thought this kids really special. Id just love to see him go and fulfil his potential. I expect him to do a lot of great things in snooker."

Whatever the outcome of Mondays final session, Wu is expected to have many more attempts at winning the World Snooker Championship in the future, having been given the stamp of approval by two of the sports biggest legends.

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