Ronnie O’Sullivan heaped praise on Kyren Wilson at the UK Championship (Image: GETTY)
hailed as “the man to beat” ahead of the world champion’s semi-final showdown with . Wilson booked his place in the last-four of the tournament after dispatching Michael Holt 6-3 on Friday.
Wilson has impressed on the Tour this year and stormed to the title in May when he got the better of Jak Jones in the final.
But he began his with Trump as the underdog at the York Barbican, despite the fact he had already beaten the Bristol-born potter in two finals earlier this year.
“With Kyren it was about belief,” O’Sullivan explained as he appeared on before The Warrior had reached the semis. “There was a lot of chat, sometimes criticising his game, and he would have heard that.
“But having been the world champion, winning two tournaments this year. For me, if he gets to the semi-finals he is the man to beat.”
O’Sullivan was quizzed about the pressures of being world champion during the exchange. And he added: “It depends how good you are, some [players] it can destroy their career and [they] can’t handle the pressure.
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Kyren Wilson set-up a semi-final showdown with Judd Trump at the UK Championship (Image: GETTY)
“Some players who have the talent and have got the pedigree, they rise in stature and go on to win many, many things.
“I would definitely put Kyren in that bracket where [he] is going to win many, many more big tournaments.”
The Rocket even as he exclaimed: “He reminds me of Scottie Scheffler, the golfer. You get a lot of people who drive the ball a long way, do this well, do that well. He (Wilson) does everything very well and when he is on it, he is a tough competitor.”
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Trump set-up the clash with Wilson after thrashing Anda Zhang 6-2 in the quarters on Friday. He has defeated his last-four opponent 18 times in 32 attempts but has lost to him in four of the finals they have played.
And after his showdown with Zhang, the 35-year-old spoke about his recent rivalry with Wilson as he explained: “I think it is great for everyone that there is kind of two players that are achieving some great stuff this season.
“If Kyren wasn’t there, then (my) lead at the top of the rankings would be astronomical. You need someone on your heels to keep pushing you and make you keep going back to practise. We’re both trying to push each other on at the moment.”