Ronnie O’Sullivan heaps praise on Ben Mertens following English Open battle: ‘Sky is the limit for him’

Ronnie O’Sullivan has said the “sky is the limit” for Ben Mertens after the teenager pushed him hard in the first round of the English Open.

Current world champion O’Sullivan looked set for a comfortable evening at the Brentwood Centre in Essex when racing into a 3-0 lead despite not playing at his best.

But his scrappy play allowed Mertens to get a foothold in the contest, and the 18-year-old grew in confidence after getting a frame on the board against the seven-time world champion.

Mertens picked off the fifth and sixth frames to force a decider, the latter with a run of 73, and had chances in the final stanza.

Mertens will take great heart from his first meeting with O’Sullivan, who feels the Belgian has a big future in the game.

“He is a great cueist, hits the ball well,” O’Sullivan said in the Eurosport studio. “I like his game. He is only young and he is going to be around.

“The sky is the limit for him really.

“I just think he hits the ball well. He has a very good snooker brain, sees the shot, plays the shot.

“He is a great lad. He plays the game nicely and you want to see more players play the game like that.”

The English Open at the Brentwood Centre is close to O’Sullivan’s Essex home, but he prefers to be on the road at events.

“I prefer being away to be honest, in my hotel room and different scenery,” he said. “I prefer being on the road, travelling about and seeing different friends.”

Up next for O’Sullivan is a clash with Dechawat Poomjaeng in round two, and O’Sullivan feels it could be a fun game against the exciting Thai who is back on the tour after regaining the card he lost following a poor season in 2017.

“Poomjaeng the boomerang, he keeps coming back,” O’Sullivan said. “He disappears for four or five years and then is back on the scene. I think it will be fun.”

A talking point has been the temperature in the arena after a heating issue, and O’Sullivan said it was a concern.

“I was shivering at one point, then my nose started to run,” he said. “It was so cold, but I got used to it in the end. Then you come in here and it’s too hot. I’m never happy me, too hot, too cold.”

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