Ronnie O'Sullivan has placed World Champion Zhao Xintong in the 'third tier' of snooker players alongside himself ahead of the UK Championship.

Snooker icon Ronnie O'Sullivan has remarkably ranked himself in the 'third tier' of today's top players, alongside reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong. The Rocket is set to return to the table in the UK Championship on Tuesday, hoping to avoid a third consecutive defeat.

He faces China's Zhou Yuelong in the last 32. O'Sullivan suffered a 6-5 defeat to Jack Lisowski at the China International Championships earlier last month, before falling 4-0 to Shaun Murphy at the Riyadh Championship just a fortnight later.

Speaking ahead of the match against Zhou, O'Sullivan suggested the era of one player dominating the sport has passed. He told The Sun:

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