Masters champion Shaun Murphy believes his first-round opponent at this year's tournament, Wu Yize, will one day become world champion.
Murphy brilliantly claimed his second Masters crown at Alexandra Palace 12 months ago and begins the defence of his title against Wu in north London on Sunday.
China's Wu won his first ranking event - the International Championship in Nanjing - earlier this season and Murphy is predicting massive things in his career for the 22-year-old.
"I think Wu Yize is a future world champion," Murphy told Sporting Life.
"He's a phenomenal talent, a phenomenal player. We had a match earlier this season (at the Xi'an Grand Prix) when I had to play about as well as I can play, and I just beat him 5-4.
"Wu has got a lot of great qualities that you need to be a winner in our game. He's such a cool character and he's great for snooker.
"We're trying to engage new, young people. With all the social media in China, he's really doing the game there a great service. And it is great to see.
"I just hope for my sake, I don't watch too much of him on Sunday."
Wu is one of two debutants at this year's Masters. Murphy, with his vast experience, will rightly be favourite to win their encounter.
The Englishman thinks the start of the match will be key this weekend.
"People are saying they think I'm favourite to win the match, that's very flattering, but a lot of that match will be decided in how it starts," Murphy said.
"The first hour of the match is massive. How the first thirty, sixty minutes go will be a big part of that match.
"If he settles, if I allow him to settle and he likes it, we've seen how dangerous Wu Yize is.
"When you've been the last man standing at an event and you've got the trophy, I think that counts for a lot."
Murphy is referring there to Wu's International Championship success in November, when he beat the great John Higgins 10-6 in the final.
After that match, Higgins likened Wu to the late Paul Hunter, who won the Masters three times before he tragically died at the age of 27, in 2006.
Murphy could not agree more with that Higgins assessment, saying: "Wu is like Paul in so many ways. The way he holds the cue, his grip and hinge position, his bridge position, he's very much like Paul.
"He moves like Paul did, he plays like Paul did. They used to say about Paul, you never knew if he was winning or losing, and I think that Wu is very similar."
'He has given me that toughness back'
Murphy has been working with 2002 world champion Peter Ebdon as his coach for just over a year.
It's proved to be a fruitful period for Murphy, with his Masters success last January followed by British Open glory in Cheltenham in September.
Murphy has lifted the lid some more on his friendship and working relationship with Ebdon, saying he believes that the 55-year-old - who retired from playing in 2020 - has given him some of his "toughness" back.
"I've known Peter Ebdon since I was a boy," Murphy said. "I first met Peter as a nine-year-old in Northamptonshire when he was based there.
"Peter has got one of the sharpest, keenest senses of humour of anyone I've ever met. And he's up for a laugh, certainly more than people would think. I think people have judged him very harshly and they actually don't know him.
"He's incredibly funny, he's great company, he's incredibly well read. He's a great guy to spend time with. But when it's time to go to work - and this why I brought him on board - I can't think of anyone better I could have in my corner.
"I'd always felt that having someone like Peter Ebdon in your corner would bring something special to the team, and I think I was right.
"Having him in the corner, knowing what to say at the right time. Sometimes that's nothing, sometimes it's right to say nothing. It's something Peter innately knows because he has put the suit on, he has walked down those stairs, he knows how I'm feeling and so he's in a great position to advise.
"He was fiercely competitive as a player. You would have to scrape him off the table. I think in the last 12 months he has given me a little bit of that toughness back, that I had in my younger days. We've formed what I think is a really good partnership."
Eight-time Masters winner Ronnie O'Sullivan is expected to play at this year's tournament, with a first-round meeting with Neil Robertson to come next Wednesday night.
O'Sullivan pulled out of last year's Masters just days before the event. And ahead of the World Championship - when it still wasn't certain whether O'Sullivan would play - John Higgins told Sporting Life that he would prefer O'Sullivan wasn't at the Crucible, as that would mean one less rival to worry about.
It's pretty clear however that Murphy wants O'Sullivan to play at the Masters this time round.
"I think an event attracts a much wider, bigger audience to it when Ronnie O'Sullivan is involved in it," Murphy said.
"He does move the needle. He's still the biggest needle mover in the sport. So from that point of view, I would like him to be in the event.
"I've won events before where he's not played and it's almost as if people put a bit of an asterisk next to it, and say well, Ronnie wasn't at the event.
"So if you're going to win the tournament and take the trophy home, let's have everyone in the tournament. Let's have a proper tear-up and may the best man win."
Scattergun scheduling hard to sustain
Murphy's focus is very firmly on the Masters right now, but he's never short of an opinion when it comes to any issues in the game.
And the 43-year-old, who is on the players board of the newly formed Professional Snooker Players Association, clearly believes that the scheduling of events on the calendar could be improved.
"In a couple of weeks, after the Masters, we're going to the German Masters in Berlin," Murphy said. "Two days after that finishes, the World Grand Prix starts in Hong Kong. That can't go on forever.
"I think the tour's scattergun approach, what looks like a scattergun approach to scheduling, does need looking at somewhere down the line. I don't think there's any question about that. I think every player would back me on that.
"At some stage, World Snooker will have to bare their teeth and use their power to control their calendar a little bit better. We're not there yet, but hopefully at some stage they will get the power to control the calendar.
"I'm sure there are well thought out, commercial reasons why these events are scheduled the way they are. But from the point of view of trying to put on the best show you could possibly put on for members of the public, who spend their money on tickets, starting an event in Hong Kong two days after an event ends in Berlin is something that just can't go on.
"The tour is in a much better place than it was when I became a pro, there is no question about that, and we are all en masse very grateful for the efforts and work that World Snooker put in to providing us with these chances. But I think there will come a time when they'll have to do a bit better.
"It is like the Steve Dawson magical mystery tour at the moment. Where are we going next week? It would be nice if at some stage, World Snooker got their ducks in a row a little bit better and the tour scheduling made a little bit more sense."
The Alexandra Palace stage now awaits for what promises to be eight fascinating days of action.
Murphy is clearly relishing the prospect of the whole occasion on Sunday, when for the second time in his stellar career he will be introduced to fans as the defending Masters champion.
"It will be such a moment in my life, not just as a snooker player but as a bloke, to walk down those steps as defending champion again," Murphy said. "I'm really looking forward to that. I feel so lucky to be able to do that.
"But if you don't get the win, it's all for nothing. It is all about winning at the end of the day. You can be as a big a showman as you want, but nobody remembers that, you've got to win.
"Come Sunday afternoon, I'll be doing everything I can to win the match."
- Listen to Nick Metcalfe on the Talking Snooker podcast, and follow him on X
- For more coverage of the Masters, visit Sporting Life's snooker page
