Ronnie O'Sullivan switched his cue before the tournament: Who helped the champion.

Ronnie O'Sullivan improved his cue before the Grand Prix in Sian

According to The Sun: Ronnie O'Sullivan decided to make changes to his cue before the Grand Prix in Sian, with the help of his opponent Sunny Akani.

The Thai player stayed up until 2 a.m. to finish the cue for 'The Rocket', after he had already earned a reputation as a master cue maker.

Akani had previously worked with O'Sullivan and made him a new cue during the Saudi Masters Snooker last summer.

The result was impressive: The legendary player, who is 49 years old, scored TWO maximum points in the semi-final against Chris Wakelin and received a bonus of £147,000.

This year, O'Sullivan had problems with his cue as he broke his original cue in January.

The seven-time world champion had a difficult year, as he could not participate in several tournaments due to health reasons. But now he feels confident before facing Ukrainian Julian Boyko on Tuesday, highlighting that the cue made by Akani in Saudi Arabia was 'phenomenal'.

Akani shared a photo of himself working on exactly that cue of O'Sullivan and making necessary adjustments.

He admits that he worked late into the night, even though he himself will participate in the tournament on Wednesday.

“2 a.m., still no sleep for me. I switched the tip for Ronnie and refinished his cue so Ronnie could score two maximum points at the Saudi Masters.”

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“Ronnie wants to try my Sunny Akani Professional cue tip. It’s an honor to switch the cue tip for Ronnie.”

Akani will face British star Gary Wilson in the 1/16 finals at the Grand Prix in Sian.

Sunny Boy

Under the name Sunny Boy, Akani ranks 72nd in the world, but still finds time for side projects in cue making.

O'Sullivan told SunSport that Akani was recommended to him by a friend from Dubai.

“It was my friend in Dubai, Muhammad, who I have known since 1993.” “We connected again about three years ago when I was on vacation in Dubai. We just reconnected. And he told me, 'You have to try Sunny Akani's cue.'”

“I thought, 'Sunny Akani, he’s a player in snooker. How can he make good cues?'

“But Muhammad kept insisting: 'You will love it, you will love it.'”

“I thought: Oh God, I’ve heard that before. But I tried one of his cues. It didn’t quite fit me, but I was surprised that it was actually quite good.

“I asked Muhammad: 'Did Sunny make this?' He replied: Yes. I asked Sunny to make a cue to my measurements, and he made me two.”

“I took one and thought: Wow – this is the one with which I scored two 147s.”

“He is phenomenal. He is a genius in his craft.”

“It all worked out against Chris. It was unbelievable to score two 147s and even 142. I felt great.”

Thus, the collaboration between two title players continues and Akani's support and portfolio as a cue maker keeps growing. It remains unclear whether O'Sullivan can build on his previous successes in upcoming encounters; however, his new cue promises to maintain a fast pace in the tournament.