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Ronnie O'Sullivan

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Ronnie O'Sullivan
NicknameThe Rocket[1]
Professional1992–
Highest ranking#1 (5 years)
Current ranking 5 (as of 16 July 2024)
Century breaks1,265 (as of 3 August 2024)
Tournament wins
Ranking22
World Champion2001, 2004, 2008

Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975 in Wordsley, West Midlands),[2][3] nicknamed "The Rocket" due to his rapid playing style, is an English professional snooker player. He has been World Champion on three occasions (2001, 2004 and 2008), and is second on the all-time prize money list with career earnings of over £6 million,[4] behind only Stephen Hendry. O'Sullivan has been the world's no. 1 player on five occasions, has won a total of 22 ranking titles and is second on the list of competitive century breaks behind Stephen Hendry.

O'Sullivan is considered by many fans, critics and fellow professionals, including Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry, as the most naturally talented player in the history of the game.[5] He has also been involved in a number of controversial incidents during his career.[5]

Career

Early career

O'Sullivan grew up and still lives in the exclusive Manor Road area in Chigwell, Essex[6] and attended Wanstead High School.[7] He started his career at an early age, first achieving a century break at the age of 10, making a 117; scored a 147 or maximum break at 15; and turned professional at 16. He won his first 38 matches as a professional – a record that still stands[8] – on his way to the 1993 World Championship, where he remains the youngest-ever player to qualify. He lost in the first round 7–10 to Alan McManus and in the next season he was ranked 57. He was the youngest ever winner of a ranking tournament when he won the 1993 UK Championship aged 17, beating Stephen Hendry in the final, and starting one of the most prominent rivalries in the sport. In 1995, he won his first Masters title.

In the 1996 World Championship, snooker's governing body found him guilty of assaulting Mike Ganley, then a media official, now the tournament director.[9] He was given a two-year suspended sentence and a £20,000 fine, and advised to donate £10,000 to charity.[2]

On 21 April 1997, in the first round of the World Championship against Mick Price, he made the fastest-recorded maximum break (and also his first), 5 minutes and 20 seconds, an average of one shot every 9 seconds.[10] In November, he won his second UK title, beating Hendry 10–6 in the final.

After winning the 1998 Benson & Hedges Irish Masters against Ken Doherty, he was stripped of his title and disqualified after a drug test found cannabis in his system. The trophy then went to Doherty. Doherty rejected the trophy as he felt he did not deserve to win. He did however accept the prize money of £90,000.[11]

O'Sullivan made it to the semi-finals of the 1999 Embassy World Championship, but lost 13–17 to Stephen Hendry; the last four frames of the third session featured four successive centuries, two from Hendry and two from O'Sullivan. Following his solid performance the previous year, O'Sullivan's promising campaign in the 1999–2000 season (when he won three ranking titles) ended in disappointment. He was a favourite for the 2000 world title, especially after an unexpected loss by Hendry to Stuart Bingham in the first round, but O'Sullivan was also eliminated in the first round by David Gray, who struggled back from 1–5 and 7–9 down to edge out O'Sullivan 10–9 for a place in the second round. In that match O'Sullivan made five centuries (three in consecutive frames, equalling the record held by John Higgins), all to no avail, while Gray recorded four.

In 2001, O'Sullivan claimed his first World Championship title (which he dedicated to his father), with an 18–14 victory over Higgins, and his third UK title, with a 10–1 victory over Doherty. He began the 2002/2003 season ranked number 1.

After the first world title

In 2002 at the World Championship Hendry and O'Sullivan were set to meet in the semifinals, O'Sullivan having edged out Stephen Lee in a quarter-final match, 13–10, and Hendry winning his quarter-final match over Doherty. At a pre-match interview O'Sullivan said, referring to a previous match against Hendry in 1999: "I know if I do get beat and he comes up and does a moonie in front of me and goes 'Ne ne ne', I'll just look at him and say 'well done' and say 'go back to your sad little life'.[12] In the match, O'Sullivan had the better of the first day's play, opening up an 8–5 lead; but on the second day Hendry rallied back to 12–12 going into the final session. Hendry subsequently outplayed O'Sullivan and won convincingly 17–13. After the match, O'Sullivan accused Hendry of poor sportsmanship, referring to his conduct over a mis-shot at an unnamed prior tournament.[13] Hendry didn't comment on his opponent's outburst, although O'Sullivan did receive some criticism for his remarks from Steve Davis and Clive Everton. O'Sullivan later apologised to Hendry for his comments.[14]

Another successful season followed in 2002/2003, with O'Sullivan reaching the last 16 of seven ranking tournaments and winning the Scottish Masters, the European Open and Irish Masters, defeating Higgins in the Scottish and Irish finals, and Hendry in the European, and starting the 2003 World Championship as runaway favourite. O'Sullivan's season ended on a disappointing note however when he was knocked out of the World Championship in the first round for the third time in his career, losing 10–6 to the unseeded Marco Fu, despite making four century breaks - including another maximum 147 break - in the match. This defeat saw him drop to number three in the rankings.

In 2004, O'Sullivan's father telephoned 1970s six-time World Champion Ray Reardon and asked if he could give O'Sullivan some advice.[15] With Reardon's backing, O'Sullivan came into top form and claimed the World Championship, beating Graeme Dott very convincingly in the final by 18 frames to 8. He lost the first five frames of the match, however, which he attributed to his opponent's (and O'Sullivan's former) coach's mind games – entering O'Sullivan's dressing room minutes before the match.[16] He also beat Hendry 17–4 in the semi-final – the most one-sided defeat ever in a World Championship semi-final.[17] O'Sullivan was ranked number one for the next two seasons.

2004/2005

In the 2005 World Championship, O'Sullivan lost to Peter Ebdon in the quarter-final. From 2–8 down, Ebdon began a comeback and eventually won 13–11, by playing in an exceptionally determined and dogged style, with many observers accusing him of deliberate slow play to disrupt O'Sullivan's fast game.[18] After the match, O'Sullivan indicated to the press that he was unlikely to compete in the following season, and perhaps even would retire from the sport altogether.[19] However, in September 2005, he announced that he would play a truncated 2005/2006 season and spend some time playing eight-ball in the United States after being chosen to compete on the elite International Pool Tour.[20][21] It transpired, however, that the IPT pool tournament in which O'Sullivan was to make his debut clashed with the defence of his Premier League Snooker title. Plans were changed accordingly, with O'Sullivan going on to beat Hendry 6–0 with four century breaks.

O'Sullivan next won the season's Masters and Welsh Open titles. However, he missed China Open on medical grounds; this was criticised by Anthony Hamilton, who said that O'Sullivan has a duty to promote the sport.[22]

2005/2006

After a comprehensive 2–9 loss to John Higgins in the final of the Grand Prix, O'Sullivan reached the final of the Masters, only to lose again 9–10 to Higgins. In his first-round match with Mark King at the UK Championship, O'Sullivan sat with a wet towel draped over his head for most of the contest.[23]

The 2006 World Championship saw O'Sullivan's personal sponsor, 888.com, also become the event sponsor for the following three years. Following a 10–4 defeat of Dave Harold, he struggled through 13–10 in a second-round match against Welshman Ryan Day. A similar quarter-final match ensued against Mark Williams. O'Sullivan led 10–6 going into the final session. A fightback from Williams saw him take the lead by winning the next five frames, but O'Sullivan held his nerve to take the match 13–11, and faced Graeme Dott in the semi-finals. Dott took an early lead before O'Sullivan drew level at 8–8 at the end of the second session. Cue-tip problems which had dogged O'Sullivan throughout the event recurred, including an incident in which television footage appeared to show O'Sullivan deliberately removing the tip of his cue. This secured him a 15-minute break to re-tip the cue, before he returned and made a 124 break. Tournament Director Mike Ganley accepted the player's assurance that the tip had simply fallen off, and no censure was made.[24] The incident drew criticism from his opponent,[25] and from Steve Davis and John Parrott.[26] Dott then took all eight frames of the third session, leaving him one frame away from his second final in three years. The final session saw O'Sullivan stage a minor fightback, taking three frames in a row before a mistake let Dott back in for an eventual clearance on the black. After Dott's win, O'Sullivan gave his cue and case to a boy in the crowd.[27] BBC claims he had used as many as 21 different tips during the fortnight;[24] O'Sullivan later stated he had used seven tips before arriving in Sheffield, and a further eight during the week,[27] and that he would return next season with a new cue from cuemaker John Parris.

O'Sullivan's decision to not enter the Malta Cup cost him the number one rank for the following season.

2006/2007

On his way to the final of the Northern Ireland Trophy, which he lost 6–9 to Ding Junhui, he defeated semi-final opponent Dominic Dale 6–0 in a record 53 minutes for a best-of-11 frame match.[28][29]

In December 2006, in his quarter-final match of the UK Championship against Hendry, O'Sullivan conceded in dramatic fashion part way into the sixth frame of the best-of-17 match.[30] He went 0–4 down after a strong start from Hendry, before taking a frame back. At the start of the sixth frame O'Sullivan opened with a break of 24, before leaving him a difficult shot from black to red, ultimately missing his next red. After the miss, O'Sullivan calmly shook the hand of both Hendry (saying to him that he "had enough of it, mate") and the match referee, Jan Verhaas, and walked out of the arena, stunning everyone present. It also caused minor disruption to the other quarter-final match between Graeme Dott and Steve Davis, due to the audience moving to the other side of the arena to view their match. Dott later added that he initially thought that O'Sullivan and Hendry were having a fight when he heard an audience member shout "Get a grip, Ronnie".[31] It was later officially confirmed that O'Sullivan had forfeited the match, which was awarded 9–1 to Hendry. The World Snooker Association announced that the fans who had travelled to watch the match would get next-day tickets for free by way of compensation.[32] O’Sullivan issued a statement later that day apologising and saying that he would be "back on his feet fighting stronger and harder than ever very soon".[31] On 31 May 2007, World Snooker fined O'Sullivan a total of £20,800 and docked him 900 ranking points over this incident.[33][34]

O'Sullivan returned to action at the SAGA Insurance Masters, to a mixed response from the audience (he was booed and clapped in equal measure). He won his first round match on 16 January 2007 against Ali Carter 6–1, making two centuries in the process. However, he then created more controversy by failing to attend a post-match press conference.[35] He did record a short interview with Steve Davis for the BBC, stating that he was much happier than at the UK Championship and was playing well once again. Sir Rodney Walker later issued a statement that said O'Sullivan had been excused from dealing with the media because of the exceptional circumstances affecting him.[36] This decision was criticised by Shaun Murphy[37] and Ken Doherty.[38] O'Sullivan went on to win the tournament against Ding Junhui on 21 January 2007. In the match he was noted for his good sportsmanship by Davis for comforting Ding after the twelfth frame. Ding had become visibly upset by an overly partisan member of the crowd who was later ejected. O'Sullivan was leading 9–3 at the time and won the next frame for a 10–3 victory.[39]

O'Sullivan went out of the Malta Cup with a 3–5 loss to Michael Holt in the first round. Later, during the Welsh Open, O'Sullivan announced that his technique would be undergoing major changes since he was unhappy with his recent performances. These included a 5–4 reverse to Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals.

In his quarter-final match against Joe Swail at the Irish Masters, O'Sullivan knocked in a 147 on his way to a narrow 5–4 victory. Since the table used did not have officially ratified pockets O'Sullivan's maximum does not count towards his official total.[6] The organisers had initially offered a car to any player who completed a maximum break, but were unable to keep their promise. He defeated John Higgins in another decider (6–5) later that evening, then easily overcame Barry Hawkins 9–1 in the final, becoming the first winner of the new Paul Hunter Trophy, awarded to him by Paul's widow Lyndsey.

Just before the 2007 World Championship, in which he had a first-round match with Ding Junhui again, O'Sullivan claimed that the draw was fixed. This was subsequently denied by World Snooker[40] and O'Sullivan later retracted his accusation.[41] In the end, O'Sullivan won the tie easily, 10–2. He also won his second-round match against Robertson 13–10 (despite losing six frames in a row at one time), before losing his quarter-final match against eventual tournament winner John Higgins 9–13.

2007/2008

O'Sullivan withdrew from the first ranking event of the season, the Shanghai Masters, citing back problems which doctors advised him not to travel on. He also chose not to enter the invitational Pot Black tournament.

O'Sullivan made the final of the Grand Prix, but was lost 6–9 against Marco Fu.

During the 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy O'Sullivan set a new record after compiling five centuries in a 5–2 defeat of Ali Carter. This also included his seventh, official competitive 147 maximum break.[42] O'Sullivan went out of the tournament in the next round after he lost against Fergal O'Brien.

On 2 December 2007, he won a fourth consecutive (and record seventh in total) Premier League Snooker title by beating John Higgins in the final by a score of 7–4.

On 15 December 2007, O'Sullivan compiled his eighth maximum break in competition in the deciding frame of his Maplin UK Championship semi-final against Mark Selby at Telford, equalling Hendry's record. [43]In doing so, O'Sullivan also became only the third person in professional competition to compile a maximum to win a match. Hendry had made the first against O'Sullivan in the 1997 Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge final, and Mark Williams made the second, at the Crucible in the first round of the 2005 World Championship. O'Sullivan is also the second player (after John Higgins) to make 147 breaks in two consecutive ranking tournaments (2007 Northern Ireland Trophy and 2007 Maplin UK Championship). He then went on to win the tournament easily beating Stephen Maguire 10–2 in the final (from 8–0 up), and picked up a £100,000 cheque for winning his first ranking tournament in almost three years.[44]

At the Masters on 12 January, Stephen Maguire edged out O'Sullivan in a tense final frame to win their first-round match at Wembley. In the battle of the top two players in the provisional world rankings, O'Sullivan fought back from 4–1 down to level at 5–5 and take the match into a deciding eleventh frame. But O'Sullivan missed a relatively simple final blue with the rest, when poised to win the match, allowing Maguire to reach the quarter-finals.[45]

After withdrawing from the invitational Malta Cup O'Sullivan returned at the Welsh Open in February. Playing a good tournament, he reached the final against Selby. Although O'Sullivan led 8–5, Selby won the last four frames to beat him 9–8.[46]

O'Sullivan was present at the China Open, in Beijing, where he lost 4–5 to Marco Fu in the first round. However, at the press conference, which followed the match, O'Sullivan was heard making some lewd remarks inviting a member of the press to perform fellatio on him, then laughing with the World Snooker media spokesman. O'Sullivan also joked about the size and girth of his penis, before simulating a sexual act on his microphone.[47][48] In June 2008, the WPBSA punished O'Sullivan for his behaviour by docking the appearance money and world ranking points that he had earned from the event.[49]

He compiled a record breaking ninth competitive 147 break[50] at the Crucible against Mark Williams at the 2008 World Championships. It was his third of the season, and also his third maximum at the Crucible. It was the fourth maximum to be compiled in a winning frame of a match (following Hendry, Williams, and O'Sullivan himself). Interviewed by Steve Davis just after beating Williams 13–7 he said "I can finally buy a Bentley Continental GT".[51] Soon after potting the final black, snooker legend and commentator, Dennis Taylor, labelled Ronnie O'Sullivan as a "total genius".[52] To add insult to injury for Williams it was also the frame that relegated him from snooker's elite top 16, meaning he had to qualify for next season's tournaments. However, O'Sullivan's 147 was equalled by Ali Carter in the same tournament, halving the prize money.[53] O'Sullivan defeated Liu Chuang, Mark Williams, Liang Wenbo and Stephen Hendry en route to the final of the tournament. He then beat Carter 18–8 for the title on 5 May. In an interview after his third world title win, he hinted again that he may not play in the 2008/2009 season, but also stated that he may go on to pursue many more world titles.[54]

At the end of the season O'Sullivan, along with Williams and Maguire, left management company, 110sport, to join Romford-based Grove Leisure.[55]

2008/2009

He began the new season by winning the Northern Ireland Trophy, defeating Dave Harold 9–3 in the final. O'Sullivan is the only player to win back-to-back ranking events in the last four years.[56]

O'Sullivan then reached the final of the Shanghai Masters. He defeated Stephen Maguire in the semi finals with two high breaks of 141 and 145; however, in the final, Ronnie was beaten by qualifier Ricky Walden 8–10. O'Sullivan was leading, but Walden pulled back four straight frames in a row to win the match.

In the Premier League, he secured a 7–2 win over Mark Selby, which meant that he had won the event eight times in total, and five times consecutively. O'Sullivan failed to defend his UK Championship title however, losing to Joe Perry 5–9 in the second round. O'Sullivan had conceded the twelfth game of the match to go 5–7 down, despite Perry only holding a lead of 23–0. Commenting afterwards, O'Sullivan said that "it might have looked like I lost my head or whatever, but I'm sure I'll bounce back."[57] For this he was later fined £300, and he was ordered to play £1000 costs.[58][59][60]

In the 2009 Masters, O'Sullivan reached the final by beating Joe Perry, Ali Carter and Stephen Maguire. In a tense final against defending champion Mark Selby, neither player was able to obtain a sizeable lead, with frames littered with both big breaks and close finishes. After leading 3–1, O'Sullivan ended the afternoon session at 4–4, and took the first frame of the evening session. Selby, however, then won the next 3 frames to lead 7–5. O'Sullivan responded by himself taking three frames in succession to lead 8–7. The following two frames were shared, and at 9–8, after both players had wasted chances, O'Sullivan constructed a break of 55, beating Mark Selby 10–8 and thereby claiming the title for the fourth time. In doing this, he became only the second player, after Stephen Hendry, to win the trophy more than three times. In his post-match interview, O'Sullivan cited his victory, composed with a cue that he obtained only the previous Saturday, as his greatest achievement in snooker.[61] On the way to his fourth title O'Sullivan surpassed Stephen Hendry's century record in the event, bringing his total to 44 as of 2009 and also contributed to the record-breaking 32 century breaks compiled over the course of the tournament, six more than the 26 compiled in 2007.

In the 2009 World Championship, O'Sullivan compiled three centuries in his first match, against Stuart Bingham. In the second frame, he compiled a 140 break, in a later frame he also achieved a break of 104, the 14th frame he scored clearance of 103. He was defeated in the second round 11-13 by Mark Allen after leading 9-7.[62]

2009/2010

He began the season by winning the Shanghai Masters, defeating Liang Wenbo 10–5 in the final. On the way to reach the final he only lost 6 frames. He beat in the first round Graeme Dott 5-0, in the second round Marco Fu 5-2, in the quarter-finals Ding Junhui 5-3 and in the semifinals John Higgins 6-1.[63] After his Shanghai Masters victory he joined the newly founded Snooker Players Association.[64]

In the second ranking event, the Grand Prix, he beat Jamie Burnett in the first round 5-3, but then lost narrowly against John Higgins in the second round 4-5.[65]

On 29 November 2009, O'Sullivan didn't defend his Premier League Snooker title, with Shaun Murphy defeating him 7-3 in the final.[66]

Following his 9-3 victory over Matthew Stevens in the UK Championship on 7 December 2009, O'Sullivan caused controversy in his post-match press conference. He described the outgoing regime at the WPBSA (headed by Sir Rodney Walker) as "a cancer running through the game" and also said, "Leukaemia has set in". He went on to endorse the new era of snooker, headed by Barry Hearn.[67] He then won his next two matches 9-3 against Peter Ebdon in the last 16 and Mark Selby in the quarter-finals, before losing the semi-final 8-9 to John Higgins, despite coming back from 2-8 to 8-8.[68]

O'Sullivan began the defence of his Masters title by defeating Australian Neil Robertson in the first round 6-4, after trailing 0-3.[69] After this he defeated Peter Ebdon in the quarter final 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.[70] There he beat Mark Williams 6-5 to reach his 6th Masters final in 7 years.[71] O'Sullivan met Mark Selby in the final for the second consecutive year[72], but he lost 9-10, despite leading 9-6.[73]

In the Welsh Open he reached the semifinals by beating Stuart Bingham 5-1 in the first round, Jamie Cope 5-0 in the second round and Mark Allen 5-2 in the quarter-finals, but lost 4-6 against John Higgins in the semi-finals.[74]

Playing style

O'Sullivan plays in a fast and attacking manner. He is a prolific breakbuilder and solid tactical player, although he has stated his disdain for long, drawn-out games, saying that it harms the game of snooker.[75] He is a good front-runner, although tends to become demoralised when behind and not playing well, and is liable to lose multiple consecutive frames.[76] When behind and needing snookers, he tends to concede more often than other players, although after Ray Reardon's coaching he does seem to carry on with the frame a lot more than previously.

O'Sullivan is right-handed, but can play to a high standard with his left hand. While not quite possessing the same power in his left arm, being ambidextrous enables him to attempt shots with his left hand that would otherwise require awkward cueing with a rest or spider.[77] O'Sullivan sometimes plays with a variety of bridge hands.

When he first displayed this left-handed ability in the 1996 World Championship against Alain Robidoux, the Canadian accused him of disrespect. O'Sullivan responded that he played better with his left hand than Robidoux could with his right.[8] O'Sullivan was summoned to a disciplinary hearing in response to Robidoux's formal complaint, where he had to prove that he could play to a high level with his left hand. He played three frames of snooker against former world championship runner-up Rex Williams, winning all three. The charge of bringing the game into disrepute was subsequently dropped.[78]

Status

He is considered by many to be the most naturally talented player in the history of the sport,[79] with some labelling him a 'genius'.[80][81] Several of his peers regard him as the greatest player ever,[15][82][83][84] although a temperamental streak sometimes lead to a lack of confidence or interest,[2] and he has performed inconsistently throughout his controversial career thus far,[85] with observers noting the 'two Ronnies' aspect of his character.[86][87] According to Stephen Hendry after his defeat at the 2008 World Championship, "O'Sullivan is the best player in the world by a country mile".[88]

O'Sullivan is also the most popular player on the circuit[89] – along with Jimmy White, another very popular English player – and is noted for being a 'showman'.[90] He is perhaps the biggest draw in the game today,[91] and has helped improve the image of snooker to the general public.[80][92] O'Sullivan himself has stated his desire for entertaining the watching public, and said that slow, gritty games put viewers off.[93]

He has often been compared to Alex Higgins and Jimmy White because of both his natural talent and popularity.[77]

O'Sullivan has compiled 590 competitive centuries during his career (up to the 2010 Masters inclusively), second only to Hendry.[6][94]

Performance timeline

Ranking Tournaments 1992/
93 		1993/
94 		1994/
95 		1995/
96 		1996/
97 		1997/
98 		1998/
99 		1999/
00 		2000/
01 		2001/
02 		2002/
03 		2003/
04 		2004/
05 		2005/
06 		2006/
07 		2007/
08 		2008/
09 		2009/
10
Shanghai Masters Not Held 1R F W
Grand Prix[nb 1] 1R 1R QF 1R 2R 3R 3R QF F QF QF 2R W F QF F QF 2R
UK Championship 1R W QF QF 1R W 1R QF SF W QF SF 2R 1R QF W 2R SF
Welsh Open 1R 1R QF 2R 2R 4R SF 3R 2R 2R QF W W 2R QF F 2R SF
China Open[nb 2] Not Held 2R W NR 1R W W QF Not Held SF 2R SF 1R QF
World Championship 1R 2R QF SF 2R SF SF 1R W SF 1R W QF SF QF W 2R
Non-Ranking Tournaments
The Masters A WR W F F QF QF QF 1R QF QF F W F W 1R W F
Premier League Snooker RR RR RR RR W RR A SF W W SF A W W W W W F
Former Ranking Tournaments
German Open Not Held 1R W SF NR Not Held Non-Ranking Event
Scottish Open[nb 3] 2R LQ 3R 1R QF W 2R W 2R 2R 3R QF Not Held
British Open LQ W F SF 1R QF 3R SF QF SF 3R F SF Not Held
Irish Masters Non-Ranking Event W QF W NH NR Not Held
Malta Cup[nb 4] QF F SF 1R 1R NH 1R Not Held QF W QF 2R A 1R NR Not Held
Northern Ireland Trophy Not Held NR F QF W NH
Bahrain Championship Not Held 1R NH
Former Non-Ranking Tournaments
Scottish Masters A A A SF QF QF W QF W F W Not Held
Irish Masters A A 1R QF SF DQ QF SF W QF Ranking Event NH W Not Held
Performance Table Legend
LQ lost in qualifying draw #R lost in the early rounds of the tournament
(WR = Wildcard round, RR = Round robin)
QF advanced to but not past the quarterfinals SF advanced to but not past the semifinals
F advanced to the final, tournament runner-up W won the tournament
DQ disqualified from the tournament A did not participate in the tournament
NH / Not Held means an event was not held.
NR / Non-Ranking Event means an event is/was no longer a ranking event.

  1. ^ The event run under different name as LG Cup (2001/2002-2003/2004)
  2. ^ The event run under different names such as Thailand Classic (1995/1996), Asian Classic (1996/1997) and China International (1998/1999-1999/2000)
  3. ^ The event run under different names such as International Open (1992/1993 – 1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)
  4. ^ The event run under different names such as European Open (1988/1989-1996/1997 and 2001/2002-2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999)

Tournament wins and career rankings

Season Ranking
1993/94 57
1994/95 9
1995/96 3
1996/97 8
1997/98 7
1998/99 3
1999/00 4
2000/01 4
2001/02 2
2002/03 1
2003/04 3
2004/05 1
2005/06 1
2006/07 3
2007/08 5
2008/09 1
2009/10 1

Ranking tournaments

Non-ranking

Team

Amateur

Personal life

He is a considered perfectionist,[95] and highly self-critical[96], even in victory.[54][97] He suffers from depression and has had drug-related problems.[98] He has made several statements about his lack of enthusiasm and dislike for the sport, and has threatened to quit several times throughout his career.

In 1995, O'Sullivan was caught speeding, and was banned from driving for a year and fined £1,200.[99]

O'Sullivan broke up with former girlfriend Bianca Westwood in 2001.[100] He has a daughter named Taylor-Ann (born in 1997) from a previous relationship. He and girlfriend Jo Langley – whom he met at Narcotics Anonymous[101] – have a daughter, Lily Jo O'Sullivan, born in Redbridge, Greater London, February 2006, and a son, Ronnie, who was born on 12 June 2007.[102] He was reported to have split with Jo in early June 2008.[103]

In 2003, media sources carried reports that O'Sullivan had converted to Islam, but despite his self-professed interest in the faith these reports were proven to be false.[104][105][106] O'Sullivan also admits an interest in Buddhism,[107] having spent many lunchtimes at the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green. However, he denies having a firm commitment to any religion.[108]

In 2004, he appeared on Top Gear as the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car", and finished with a time of 1:47.3 around the test track in a Suzuki Liana.[109][110] He also succeeded in clearing a snooker table of four reds plus all the colours faster than The Stig was able to drive O'Sullivan's own Mercedes SL 500, with its "147" number plate, around the track.

He made his racing debut on the 15/16 August 2009 weekend. He raced in the Volkswagen Racing Cup at Silverstone using a Volkswagen Jetta, driving with the predictable car number "147". He drove two 20 minutes rounds.[111][112] In the first round he spun off into a gravel trap. The second round was far better, as he finished 14th.[113]

References

  1. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Rocket goes off again". BBC Sport. 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  3. ^ "Ronnie, O'Sullivan Biography". Biography.com. 2007-04-21.
  4. ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan". Yahoo! UK. 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  5. ^ a b Steve Wilson. "Is Ronnie O'Sullivan the greatest of all time?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  6. ^ a b c "Official player profile of Ronnie O'Sullivan". wst.tv. World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. "Players" section.
  7. ^ "Rocket Ron eyes new wheels after a brilliant 147". This Is Local London. 2008-04-28. Retrieved 2008-05-06.
  8. ^ a b "Ronnie O'Sullivan, "The Rocket"". snookerclub.com. Retrieved 2007-04-21.
  9. ^ "Top five controversial incidents". The Times. 2007-05-04. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
  10. ^ "Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan fastest 147". Youtube. Retrieved May 6, 2008.
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Further reading

  • O'Sullivan, Ronnie (2004). Ronnie: The Autobiography of Ronnie O'Sullivan (rev. ed. ed.). London: Orion. ISBN 0-7528-5880-7. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

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