AS Anthony McGill prepares for his World Championship second-round clash with Mark Selby, Scottish snooker's new superstar has been tipped as a future world champion by one of the all-time greats.

Ronnie O'Sullivan knows a thing or two about lifting the World Championship trophy, having done so on five occasions, and is adamant that Glasgow's McGill has what it takes to do the same.

The 24-year-old has long been considered one of the sport's brightest talents, but really burst on to the scene with a dramatic first-round victory over Stephen Maguire on his Crucible Theatre debut.

He led fellow-Scot Maguire 9-5, before holding off a comeback to triumph 10-9, but now faces an even tougher task in the form of defending champion Selby.

However, O'Sullivan, who beat McGill in the UK Championship quarter-finals in December, says the youngster's enthusiasm for the game is infectious regardless of results.

"It's Anthony's first time at the Crucible, I see him on the practice table and he's just living the dream," explained O'Sullivan. "He had a good run at the UK Championship, he's got an appetite for the game and I love to see that.

"When you get to my position, you see players come and go, so you get to spot the ones who are coming and staying.

"McGill is one that's coming and staying. I'm sure he might well get his hands on this trophy one day.

"He deserves it more than anyone because he loves the game and you can never keep people like that down."

McGill's best-of-25 match against Selby is spread over three sessions, and begins this afternoon.

The Scot is a huge underdog and although his future is bright, O'Sullivan is predicting a steep learning curve.

"He's got his work cut out against Selby," added O'Sullivan, who lost 18-14 to the world No.1 in last year's World Championship final.

"He is going to feel every ball out there because Selby does what Selby does - grind you into the ground and make you feel like you have to fight for every opportunity. But it's a good learning process and I'm sure whichever result he gets, he will learn a lot."

In contrast to McGill, O'Sullivan cruised through his first-round match, translating a 7-2 overnight lead into a 10-3 victory over debutant Craig Steadman.

'The Rocket' once again hit the headlines after removing his new shoes mid-match to play in just socks, before borrowing a more comfortable pair from tournament director Mike Ganley.

That didn't stop the 39-year-old booking a second-round clash with Matthew Stevens, but he admits not breaking in his new footwear before the tournament was an error.

"It was a bad move wearing the new shoes," said O'Sullivan. "When I was buying them I thought they didn't look right, but I'm not a fashion kind of guy.

"I think I played pretty decently - I missed a few pots, but that's to be expected. When you come here, you can't expect to be potting everything off lampshades the whole time."

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