Ronnie O'Sullivan fires big warning to snooker rivals after making Shanghai quarter-finals

Ronnie O'Sullivan is on a collision course with new snooker world champion Zhao Xintong at the Shanghai Masters, and has laid down a big warning to the rest of the competition. Both the Rocket and the Cyclone made winning starts to their 2025/26 campaigns in China, playing at the same time in a feast of snooker for those in attendance at the Luwan Gymnasium.

Zhao blitzed World Championship quarter-finalist Chris Wakelin 6-2 while O'Sullivan took the deciding frame against Barry Hawkins to set up a mouthwatering clash with Kyren Wilson. Zhao takes on Ding Junhui in an all-Chinese affair to delight the home fans.

And O'Sullivan has warned the likes of Wilson, who will be aiming to reclaim his world title, and Ding who is still aiming to break that duck, that they face an uphill battle in catching Zhao.

"He's been a brilliant player since he was 15," O'Sullivan said. "We all knew how good he was. He won the UK Championship, but the World Championship is a different tournament.

"If you can win that, it means you can play under pressure. Which is very important. He's won that now, so I think he'll get better, and stronger and stronger.

"I think technically he is very, very good. He doesn't miss many balls. He's going to be a strong, strong competitor over the next few years."

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Zhao showed no signs of letting up on his return to professional snooker, as he competes on the tour for the first time since a 20-month suspension for his role in a match-fixing scandal.

The 28-year-old explained that he worked incredibly hard to return to the pinnacle of the sport and spent the summer enjoying the fruits of his labour.

"I played intensely for over a month at the World Championship, and that was pretty much my entire season last year," said national icon Zhao.

"So I actually finished wanting to play again soon. Over the past two months, I've taken some time off and done things I hadn't done before. It gave me a chance to reset and get a fresh start. And I think today was a good beginning."

He was given a hero's welcome upon his return to Shanhai to take on Wakelin, an atmosphere that will be magnified when he takes on the pioneer of Chinese snooker - Ding.

"I played Ding a few times many years ago, and back then I was just a young fan, playing against my idol," said Zhao.

"Now my level has improved, and I can compete with him a bit more. So I'm looking forward to it.

"I don't know what will happen, but I hope it will be a good match. There's no avoiding it now. I just hope we can play a great match.

"When I play Ding, winning or losing really doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that the fans enjoy the show."