“It's all new to the Chinese and they are very excited about it. It's like a pot of gold at the end of it for them and that's a huge incentive.”

LONDON World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan is predicting a Chinese takeover of snooker with recent UK Championship winner Ding Junhui leading the way.

The charismatic O'Sullivan, nicknamed the Rocket for his rapid break-building, begins the defence of his Masters title on Sunday at Wembley Arena in London.

He will also start as favourite to regain the world title later this year but said it was only a matter of time before the rankings are dominated by Chinese players.

“I think it could be a takeover one day,” the outspoken Londoner, who will use an eye-catching purple cue at the Masters after signing a lucrative deal with Premier Inns, told Reuters.

“It's all new to the Chinese and they are very excited about it. It's like a pot of gold at the end of it for them and that's a huge incentive.”

“They've a lot of grassroots snooker which is not as strong as it was (in England) when I was an amateur 20 years ago.

“I mean out of a million playing the game you might find four or five that are really good. It's a numbers game.

“In China they have 100 million or a billion people, statistically it's in their favour.”

Ding, who beat world champion John Higgins to win the UK Championship in December, is the highest-ranked Chinese player at 13th in the world.

But O'Sullivan said the Chinese could have as many as 10 players in the top 16 in the not too distant future if the game continues to develop there at the same pace.

“We have to get our fingers out and start producing some quality players otherwise there will be a Chinese world champion in three years, without doubt,” O'Sullivan, once described as a genius by former world champion Dennis Taylor, said.

“Ding's the player to do it but there's another 20 in China all waiting to come on board. I can see in 10 years there will probably be 10 top Chinese players.”

O'Sullivan, who once blasted a maximum 147 break in less than five minutes, also welcomed the new chairman of snooker's governing body, Barry Hearn, saying he can jazz up the sport that once drew massive TV audiences in Britain.

“Barry will get people out of their comfort zone and make changes in the game that will make it a bit more exciting and put people under a bit more pressure to perform,” he said.

“Before we were frightened to open our mouths at tournaments, that's how bad it got. Now with Barry a lot of red tape has gone and it will allow people to be themselves and they won't be frightened to show their characters.

“Before, it was only me, I was the only one who said what I thought. I could say what I liked and not be scared of the consequences,” added O'Sullivan.