Ken Doherty has picked three players who could be snooker’s answer to darts sensation Luke Littler.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is nearly 50 and he’s still dominating the sport. Now, the worry is that the younger generation aren’t ready to challenge for big titles.
In darts, there are no such concerns with Littler winning his fourth title of the year over the weekend and he’s making waves in the Premier League.
When it comes to snooker the young talents are finding it trickier to get over the line and win the big titles.
However, Doherty has picked out three players who he feels can be the sport’s answer to Littler in the coming years.
Ken Doherty names three players who can emulate Luke Littler in snooker
Well, it does feel as though the future might still be bright, with Doherty now backing three players to be stars of the future.
He has also explained one of the problems with young talents emerging through the rankings these days.
The 1997 World Snooker Champion told BBC Sport: “The problem is a lot of youngsters are on their phones a lot, a lot of the snooker clubs have closed down.
“The old commercial clubs, the members’ clubs, you have to be 18 because they sell drinks. They are all obstacles and the price of proprieties with clubs closing down, particularly in my country, has made it difficult to keep snooker clubs alive and open.
“But there are some young players – Stan Moody, Si Jiahui, Jackson Page – coming through. We need to get more snooker into schools early, get the kids interested and give them an appetite from a young age.”
Si Jiahui looks like the pick of the bunch from Doherty’s picks
The Chinese sensation made waves at last year’s World Snooker Championship by reaching the semi-final on his debut.
He was beaten by Luca Brecel who went on to win the tournament in 2023 but the future does look bright for him.
This year, he might view the tournament as a missed opportunity, losing to Jak Jones after knocking out Mark Williams in round one.
At 21-years-old, however, he will come again and he does look a little further along the path than Moody or Page at this moment in time.
Jiahui looks like he could be the first Chinese player to win a world title in the future and with some more composure he could be a regular in the winner’s circle in future years.