"Shaq got a little bit of reception" - Ronnie O'Sullivan describes Shaquille O'Neal baffled after unexpected run with 7x snooker world champion
Shocking the legendary Shaquille O'Neal is no easy feat, but accomplished snooker champion Ronnie O'Sullivan managed to do just that. O'Sullivan recently surprised O'Neal, who was unfamiliar with him, by receiving equally loud applause during a recent event, matching the basketball legend's level of recognition.
O'Sullivan shared his experience of his trip to Macau for an exhibition event over the weekend. During their stay at the luxurious five-star Wynn Hotel, both O'Sullivan and O'Neal were surrounded by enthusiastic fans. That came as a surprise to O'Neal, who had no knowledge of who O'Sullivan was.
“You had the people at the hotel, the CEO, the CFO, Shaq, then me and Jimmy White. You had quite a big crowd of people all there," O'Sullivan said. "They introduced each one. There was a little clap. Shaq got a little bit of reception. When they introduced my name, I got just as loud as Shaq.”
Shaq was serving as the DJ at the Wynn Signature – 2023 Hypercar Exhibition.
Despite Shaq not being familiar with him, O'Sullivan expressed his admiration for the basketball legend, saying that he was a fan of the big man.
“Shaq was good. I love Shaq,” O’Sullivan said. “Seen a few clips of him on YouTube. and he seemed like quite a good character. When I met him, I was like, 'Ah, I really like this guy before I had even met him.'
“Obviously, he’s a superstar, an NBA legend, and just to meet him …because I like my basketball, after watching a few of the Netflix series. I had got into the sport. Yeah, he’s a great guy and it was great to meet him in Macau.”
Shaquille O'Neal releases dubstep album
Last month, O’Neal released a studio album under his DJ Diesel moniker, titled “Gorilla Warfare."
The album includes collaborations with EDM artists such as Crankdat, CELO, Hairitage, VRG, Blackway and several others. It features 10 tracks and has been released under the well-known EDM label, Monstercat.
In an interview with Variety, the "Diesel" said he wanted to use his name to promote fellow DJs:
“These are some of my favorites, and I wanted to use my platform to showcase other people to the world and help these young kids out.”
He expressed that he wanted to DJ because it gives him a similar feeling to that of a playoff game.
“If it’s a crowd of 100 people or a crowd of 100,000, it’s the same thing if you’re putting on a show,” he said. “In high school, the gym would be packed with 300 people. In the NBA and the championships, you have parades, but then it’s all gone, and you need it back.
"I went to Tomorrowland and saw Tiesto with 100,000 people out there. I got that feeling back. I thought, ‘I’ve been DJing since ’88, let me try.’ I was in the celebrity DJ box and had to prove myself.”