Michael Georgiou: Cypriot on facing O’Sullivan behind closed doors and enjoying ‘slower pace’ in NI

By Richard PetrieBBC Sport NI

Michael Georgiou

For some snooker professionals, being drawn against Ronnie O’Sullivan in a major tournament would fill them with a sense of foreboding and leave them cursing their luck.

Not so with Antrim-based Cypriot player Michael Georgiou, who is relishing the prospect of taking on the five-time world champion in the upcoming Championship League, which will mark the resumption of competitive snooker.

The 32-year-old joins O’Sullivan, Chris Wakelin and Kishan Hirani in the same group for the event in Milton Keynes.

“Ronnie is one of the all-time greats, perhaps the most talented player ever to play the sport, so I feel lucky just to be playing him and be part of the same era,” said Georgiou, who has lost to O’Sullivan twice in the UK Championship and once in the Scottish Open.

“When he’s in full flow I love watching him – he’s obviously a tough opponent and I’ll be giving it everything – but even when you are up against him you have to admire the way he plays the game when he’s at his best.”

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Michael Georgiou

The tournament at the Marshall Arena will be the first since the Gibraltar Open in March and will mark one of the first professional sports to return to action since the restrictions imposed by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The event, which runs from 1 to 11 June, will be played behind closed doors with all players, staff and contractors being tested for Covid-19 before entering the venue and being kept in isolation until their results are known.

Players will require a negative test in order to be eligible for the event, with the Marshall Arena chosen as a venue because it has on-site accommodation so that everyone involved can be contained on the complex.

‘A chance to re-set myself’

“The Championship League is being used by World Snooker as a test for how the World Championship [which has been rescheduled for 31 July-16 August] might pan out,” explained Georgiou.

“They have done amazingly well to get this tournament organised and it should be good for the sport as it will be one of the first to resume and will get some good exposure through live television.

“It will be different as we are being encouraged to keep ourselves to ourselves and with no spectators it will just be the two players, a cameraman, a scorer and the referee.

Ronnie O'Sullivan

“There is no greater feeling than playing in front of a knowledgeable audience so I’ll miss that but we are there to do a job and most of the time during matches it is pretty quiet anyhow so maybe it will even help me focus a bit more.

“I’ve not had the best of seasons – aside from reaching the quarter-finals of the German Masters – and last week was the first time I had a cue in my hand for eight or nine weeks.

“I’ve been practicing again and while at first it felt alien to me I have come to regard the time out as a blessing in disguise – an opportunity to enjoy a break and re-set myself.

“It’s nice to have something to practice for as I find it difficult to motivate myself to practice when there is no prospect of a competition to play in.”

Playing at Crucible ‘a dream come true’

Georgiou claimed his first professional title by winning the Snooker Shootout in 2018, the same year that he made a maximum break in the Paul Hunter Classic.

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