John Parrott believes there is a ‘very good chance’ that Ronnie O’Sullivan will claim a record-extending eighth career win at this week’s Dafabet Masters in London. The Rocket eclipsed Stephen Hendry’s tally of six Masters wins when he defeated Joe Perry 10-7 in the decider at Alexandra Palace 12 months ago. He will now attempt to join the Scot in becoming just the second player in history to record three successive Masters wins. O’Sullivan opens his bid in the 16-man invitational event on Tuesday against Marco Fu of Hong Kong.
Parrott reached the Masters final on three occasions but he found Hendry too strong each time. Now an established snooker pundit, the Liverpudlian feels playing in his home town of London makes the event perfect for O’Sullivan. “The Masters is made for Ronnie,” said Parrott. “He loves it. He’s in his home town. “He turns up, plays his match, goes home, has a sleep in his own bed, comes back, wins his next match, and usually ends up winning the trophy. “He’s won it seven times. There’s a very good chance it is going to be eight.”
O’Sullivan is top seed for the event after his UK Championship victory over Shaun Murphy last month. Should he manage to complete his hat-trick of Masters wins, the 42-year-old would give himself a chance to win all three of snooker’s triple crown events in one season by winning a sixth World Championship at the Crucible in May – a feat he has not managed in his career before. O’Sullivan is 4/1 to defeat Marco Fu 6-2 in his opening match, while he is tournament favourite at 11/5.
Dafabet Masters odds available at Dafabet.