Chris Keogan knows he faces a daunting test as he prepares to face Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui over the coming days. World number 101 Keogan will first take on five-time world champion O’Sullivan in qualifying for next month’s Shanghai Masters on Friday, before he faces Chinese ace Ding in the English Open on Tuesday. The 25-year-old, who has made it through to the main draw of both the Riga Masters and the Paul Hunter Classic this season, admits he is looking forward to pitting himself against two of the best players in the world, although he knows he must concentrate on his own game.
“I’m just looking forward to playing them,” Keogan told The Star. “It is what it is, isn’t it? “I’ve just got to concentrate on what I do rather than thinking about I’m up against two of the best players in the world.” Keogan is particularly looking forward to taking on O’Sullivan, a player he has looked up to throughout his career. “I think every snooker player looks up to Ronnie, it’s only natural because he’s the greatest player,” he continued. “I’ve just got to treat them as any other game, take each frame as it comes and see where it ends up. That’s the best approach for me.”
The Doncaster native is certainly not ruling out potentially beating O’Sullivan, as he believes shocks can happen in the best of nine frames format. He added: “More shocks seem to happen over the shorter format, so you never know.” Keogan is priced at 7/1 to spring a surprise against O’Sullivan, who is available at 1/25 to secure his progress through to the main draw.
Shanghai Masters Qualifiers odds available at Dafabet.