Ronnie O’Sullivan might be snooker’s big cheese, but even the Rocket had to play second fiddle to China’s table tennis superstar Zhang Jike over the weekend on sports TV channel CCTV5.
The broadcaster show hundreds of hours of snooker each season, and coverage of the big home tournaments is always comprehensive and generally live.
But the five-time world champion’s first-round match in Chengdu against Ben Woollaston had to wait for live airtime until the conclusion of a World Cup match in Dusseldorf between Zhang and Germany’s Timo Boll.
Winner of an Olympic gold medal at London 2012, Zhang is a brilliant but controversial figure in the world of table tennis. He went to pick up another gold medal in Germany on Sunday but was docked prize money for a wild celebration that saw him destroy parts of the surrounding arena.
Maybe that’s the post-victory celebration snooker is missing…