Jack Lisowski has been told he is the 'closest thing' snooker has to the iconic . However, the 33-year-old's wait for a major title continues after being dumped out of the World Open by Ali Carter.

O'Sullivan has not played competitively since January but is expected to return at the World Grand Prix in Hong Kong next week. In the meantime, Lisowski has been attempting to step into the Rocket's shoes with the competition wide open on the snooker circuit.

Carter won a final-frame decider against Lisowski in the last-32 of the World Open. Carter reserved huge praise for his fellow Englishman, comparing him to O'Sullivan despite not always sharing the best relationship with the seven-time world champion.

However, the compliment came with a warning that the ultra-attacking Lisowski is too easy to tame at the table.

"In one sense, I really enjoyed playing Jack Lisowski, because he's the closest thing we've got to Ronnie O'Sullivan," Carter said. "But when you're playing him, you've just got a tiger by its tail the whole time.

"He goes on one, he's so inspirational, and for me to grind out a victory there - and it was a grind - was very pleasing.

"That's given me a lot of confidence moving into the latter part of this week. Hopefully, I can keep it going and stay in Yushan for as long as possible, so then it'll minimise the days off between now and Hong Kong."

Lisowski is a hugely popular player on tour but he is yet to win his first major title, despite reaching six finals.

Some of his rivals believe the only thing preventing Lisowski from winning titles is his mentality. In November, Mark Allen claimed that the Cheltenham-born star 'gave up' despite only needing a snooker during their UK Championship clash last year.

Allen went on to win 6-3 and bluntly remarked afterwards: "Jack doesn't ever lose because he can't pot the balls and can't score. It's just the competitive side.

"There was one of the frames tonight when he gave up when he only needed one snooker. For me, that's unforgivable. You at least try. It's unlikely you're going to win that frame with how the balls were, but at least try.

"It's that sort of thing that frustrates me watching Jack. As a fan of Jack, I love the way he plays, but sometimes you need a bit more than just talent and potting balls."