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Ronnie O'Sullivan
A dark-haired man, dressed in a white dress-shirt and, multicoloured vest, poised with a snooker cue in his right hand and an extension in his left, getting ready to make a snooker shot
O'Sullivan playing with the rest
Born (1975-12-05) 5 December 1975 (age 49)
Wordsley, West Midlands
Sport country England
NicknameThe Rocket[1]
Professional1992–
Highest ranking1
Current ranking 3 (as of 16 December 2024)
Century breaks1,277 (as of 15 December 2024)
Tournament wins
Ranking22
Minor-ranking2
World Champion2001, 2004, 2008

Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975 in Wordsley, West Midlands),[5][6] is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style and nicknamed "The Rocket".[7] 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,[8] 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, again behind Hendry, on the list of competitive century breaks with 650.[9] O'Sullivan has compiled a record 11 maximum breaks in professional competition.

O'Sullivan is considered by many fans, critics and fellow professionals, including Hendry and Steve Davis, as the most naturally talented player in the history of the game.[10] He has also been involved in a number of controversial incidents during his career.[10]

Career

Early career

O'Sullivan grew up, and still lives, in the exclusive Manor Road area in Chigwell, Essex.[11] He attended Wanstead High School.[12] He began his snooker career at an early age, first achieving a century break at the age of 10 (making 117). He scored a maximum break at 15, and turned professional at 16. He won his first 38 ranking matches as a professional – a record that still stands[13][14] – on his way to the 1993 World Championship, where he is the second youngest-ever player to qualify. He lost in the first round 7–10 to Alan McManus, and in the following season he was ranked 57.[15] He became the youngest-ever winner of a ranking tournament when, aged 17, he won the 1993 UK Championship,[14] 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, a media official.[16] He was given a two-year suspended sentence and a £20,000 fine, and advised to donate £10,000 to charity.[5] On 21 April 1997, in the first round of the World Championship against Mick Price, he made the fastest maximum break, completed in 5 minutes and 20 seconds – an average of one shot every 8.8 seconds.[14] In November, he won his second UK title, beating Hendry 10–6 in the final.

After winning the 1998 Irish Masters 9–3 against Ken Doherty, he was stripped of his title and disqualified after a drug test found cannabis in his system. The title then went to Doherty.[17] O'Sullivan made it to the semi–finals of the 1999 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 during the previous year, O'Sullivan's promising campaign in the 1999/2000 season (during which 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. 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 semi–finals, O'Sullivan having edged out Stephen Lee in his quarter-final match, 13–10, and Hendry having won his quarter-final match against 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'."[18] 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 to reach 12–12 before going into the final session. Hendry subsequently outplayed O'Sullivan and won by 17 frames to 13. After the match, O'Sullivan accused Hendry of poor sportsmanship, referring to his conduct over a "miss" shot at an unnamed prior tournament.[19] Hendry did not comment on his opponent's outburst, although O'Sullivan did receive some criticism for his remarks from Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor and Clive Everton. O'Sullivan later apologised to Hendry for his comments.[20]

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 in the first round for the third time in his career, losing 6–10 to the unseeded Marco Fu, despite making four century breaks, including another maximum break, in the match. This defeat saw him drop to number 3 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.[21] With Reardon's backing, O'Sullivan recovered his 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.[22] He also beat Hendry 17–4 in the semi–final – the most one-sided defeat ever in a World Championship semi–final.[23] O'Sullivan was ranked number one for the next two seasons.

2004/2005

O'Sullivan next won the season's Masters and Welsh Open titles. However, he missed the China Open on medical grounds; this was criticised by Anthony Hamilton, who said that O'Sullivan has a duty to promote the sport.[24]

In the 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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28] It turned out, however, that the IPT pool tournament in which O'Sullivan was to make his début clashed with the defence of his Premier League Snooker title. Plans were changed accordingly, and O'Sullivan went on to beat Hendry 6–0 with four century breaks.

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.[29]

The 2006 World Championship began with O'Sullivan defeating Dave Harold 10–4, followed by a struggle through 13–10 in the 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.[30] The incident drew criticism from his opponent,[31] and from Steve Davis and John Parrott.[32] 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.[33] BBC claims he had used as many as 21 different tips during the fortnight;[30] O'Sullivan later stated he had used seven tips before arriving in Sheffield, and a further eight during the week, and that he would return next season with a new cue.[33] O'Sullivan's decision not to enter the Malta Cup cost him the number one rank for the following season.[34]

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.[35][36]

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. He had gone 0–4 down after a strong start from Hendry, before finally taking a frame back. At the beginning of the sixth frame, O'Sullivan opened with a break of 24, before leaving himself a difficult shot from black to red. After missing the red, he 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. The incident caused minor disruption to the other quarter-final match, between Graeme Dott and Steve Davis, being played simultaneously in the same arena. Dott later said that he initially thought that O'Sullivan and Hendry were having a fight when he heard an audience member shout "Get a grip, Ronnie".[37] 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.[38] 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".[37] On 31 May 2007, World Snooker fined O'Sullivan a total of £20,800 and docked him 900 ranking points over this incident.[39][40]

O'Sullivan returned to action at the Masters, to a mixed response from the audience (being both booed and clapped). 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.[41] He did record a short interview with Steve Davis for the BBC, stating that he was much happier than at the UK Championship, and that he 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.[42] This decision was criticised by Shaun Murphy[43] and Ken Doherty.[44] 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 Steve Davis, specifically for comforting Ding after the twelfth frame, during which 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.[45]

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, as he was unhappy with his recent performances. These included a 4–5 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. Because the table used did not have officially ratified pockets, however, O'Sullivan's maximum achieved upon it does not count towards his official total.[11] The organisers had initially offered a car to any player who completed a maximum break, but were unable to keep their promise. O'Sullivan defeated John Higgins (6–5) in another decider played 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 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[46] and O'Sullivan later retracted his accusation.[47] In the end, O'Sullivan won the tie easily, by 10 frames to 2. He also won his second-round match against Robertson 13–10 (in spite of losing six frames in a row at one point), before losing his quarter-final match 9–13 against eventual champion John Higgins.

2007/2008

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

He made the final of the Grand Prix, but lost 6–9 against Marco Fu. During the Northern Ireland Trophy, he set a new record, by compiling five centuries in a 5–2 win (over Ali Carter). This also included his seventh official competitive 147 maximum break.[48] O'Sullivan went out of the tournament in the next round, having 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 UK Championship semi–final against Mark Selby at Telford, equalling Hendry's record.[49] 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 Charity Challenge final, and Mark Williams had 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, beating Stephen Maguire 10–2 in the final (from 8–0 up), thereby receiving a £100,000 cheque for winning his first ranking tournament in almost three years.[50]

At the Masters on 12 January, Stephen Maguire edged out O'Sullivan in a 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. O'Sullivan missed the final blue with the rest, when poised to win the match, allowing Maguire to reach the quarter-finals.[51]

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.[52]

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.[53] In June 2008, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association punished O'Sullivan for his behaviour by docking the appearance money and world ranking points that he had earned from the event.[54]

He compiled a record-breaking ninth competitive maximum break[55] 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".[56] Soon after potting the final black, snooker legend and commentator Dennis Taylor labelled O'Sullivan as a "total genius".[57] However, O'Sullivan's 147 was equalled by Ali Carter in the same tournament, thus halving the prize money.[58] 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 might go on to pursue many more world titles.[59]

At the end of the season, O'Sullivan, along with Williams and Maguire, left management company 110sport to join Romford-based Grove Leisure.[60]

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.[61]

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, he was beaten by qualifier Ricky Walden 10–8. 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. However, O'Sullivan failed to defend his UK Championship title, 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, although Perry held a lead of only 23 points to zero. 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."[62] For this he was later fined £300, and was ordered to pay £1000 in costs.[63][64][65]

In the 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 taking three frames in succession himself, 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 proclaimed his victory, composed with a cue that he had obtained only the previous Saturday, as his greatest achievement in snooker.[66] On the way to his fourth title, O'Sullivan surpassed Stephen Hendry's century-break record in the event, bringing his total to 44 as of 2009. He also contributed to the record-breaking 32 century breaks compiled over the course of the tournament, which was six more than the previous record of 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 a clearance of 103. He was defeated in the second round 11–13 by Mark Allen after leading 9–7.[67]

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 lost only 6 frames. He beat Graeme Dott 5–0 in the first round, Marco Fu 5–2 in the second round, Ding Junhui 5–3 in the quarter-finals, and John Higgins 6–1 in the semi–finals .[68] After his Shanghai Masters victory he joined the newly founded Snooker Players Association.[69] 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.[70] On 29 November 2009, O'Sullivan did not retain his Premier League Snooker title, with Shaun Murphy defeating him 7–3 in the final.[71] Following his 9–3 victory over Matthew Stevens in the first round of the UK Championship on 7 December 2009, O'Sullivan caused controversy in his post-match press conference. He described the outgoing regime at the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (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.[72] 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.[73]

O'Sullivan began the defence of his Masters title by defeating Australian Neil Robertson 6–4 in the first round, after trailing 0–3.[74] After this, he defeated Peter Ebdon in the quarter final 6–3 to reach the semi–finals.[75] There he beat Mark Williams 6–5 to reach his 6th Masters final in 7 years.[76] O'Sullivan met Mark Selby in the final for the second consecutive year,[77] but he lost 9–10, despite leading 9–6.[78] In the Welsh Open, he reached the semi–finals 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.[79]

O'Sullivan lost 3–5 in the first round of the China Open against 22-year-old wild card Tian Pengfei. In the eighth frame, O'Sullivan missed the final black from the spot (a pot that would have levelled the match); the ball finished over the pocket, and O'Sullivan conceded frame and match. With this, he also lost his chance to defend his official World No. 1 spot.[80] At the World Championship, he defeated Liang Wenbo 10–7 in the first round[81] and Mark Williams 13–10 in the second round,[82] before losing 11–13 to Mark Selby in the quarter-finals match.[83]

2010/2011

O'Sullivan began the 2010/2011 season at the Event 1 of the Players Tour Championship, where he lost in the quarter-finals against Jamie Cope 0–4.[84] O'Sullivan next competed at event Event 4, where reached the final. He lost against Barry Pinches 3–4.[85] At the World Open O'Sullivan made his record 10th maximum break in the last frame of his match against Mark King, which he won 3–0.[86] However, he had to be persuaded by referee Jan Verhaas to play the final black, as he became aware that there was no distinct prize money for a maximum break in the tournament, which only paid £4,000 as the highest break of the tournament. Even then, O'Sullivan played the final black in a nonchalant fashion.[87] O'Sullivan then defeated Jimmy White (3–1), Stephen Hendry (3–1), Stephen Maguire (3–1) and Peter Ebdon (3–1) to reach the final, where he lost 1–5 against Neil Robertson.[88] O'Sullivan participated at the Premier League Snooker and qualified for the finals unbeaten.[89] He then defeated Neil Robertson 5–1 in the semi-finals and Shaun Murphy 7–1 in the final,[90] to claim his ninth Premier League Snooker title in 14 years.[91] In the UK Championship in December, O'Sullivan suffered an early exit losing 6–9 against Stuart Bingham in the first round.[92]

At the Masters in January, O'Sullivan went out 4–6 in the first round against Mark Allen.[93] O'Sullivan reached the semi-finals in the Snooker Shoot-Out in January 2011, before losing against Robert Milkins. He made the two highest breaks of the tournament, 112 and 123.[94] O'Sullivan lost in the first round of the next two ranking tournaments. He lost against Ryan Day 2–4 at the Welsh Open,[95] and 2–5 at the China Open.[96] O'Sullivan reached the quarter-finals of the World Championship by defeating Dominic Dale 10–2 in the first round and Shaun Murphy 13–10 in the second round, but lost 10–13 against John Higgins.[97]

2011/2012

Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Paul Hunter Classic

O'Sullivan began the 2011/2012 season at the Event 1 of the Players Tour Championship, where he won 4–0 in the final against Joe Perry.[98] At the Paul Hunter Classic O'Sullivan made the 11th official maximum break of his career, and set a new record of career maximum breaks.[99] He then reached the semi-finals, but lost 3–4 against Mark Selby.[100] O'Sullivan's next tournament was the Shanghai Masters, where he reached the second round of the tournament, but lost 3–5 against Anthony Hamilton.[101] In October O'Sullivan won the Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy, by defeating Matthew Stevens 4–2 in the final.[102] In November he reached the final of the Antwerp Open, but lost 3–4 against Judd Trump.[103] After 9 of 12 events O'Sullivan is ranked number one on the Order of Merit.[104] O'Sullivan won the 10th Premier League title of his career.[105] After topping the table in the league stage, he defeated Mark Williams to reach the final, where he defeated Ding Junhui 7–1.[106] O'Sullivan's next tournament was the UK Championship, where he lost in the second round 5–6 against Judd Trump.[107]

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.[108] 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.[109] 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.[110] 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.[111] 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.[112]

Status

He is considered by many to be the most naturally talented player in the history of the sport,[113] with some labelling him a 'genius'.[114][115] Several of his peers regard him as the greatest player ever,[21][116][117][118] although a temperamental streak sometimes led to a lack of confidence or interest,[5] and he has performed inconsistently throughout his controversial career thus far,[119] with observers noting the 'two Ronnies' aspect of his character.[120][121] 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".[122]

O'Sullivan is one of the most popular players on the circuit[123] and is noted for being a 'showman'.[124] He is perhaps the biggest draw in the game today,[125] and has helped improve the image of snooker to the general public.[114][126] O'Sullivan himself has stated his desire for entertaining the watching public, and said that slow, gritty games put viewers off.[127] He has often been compared to Alex Higgins and Jimmy White because of both his natural talent and popularity.[110] O'Sullivan has compiled over 650 competitive centuries during his career, second only to Hendry.[11][128]

Personal life

He has been labelled a perfectionist,[129] and highly self-critical,[130] even in victory.[59][131] He suffers from clinical depression and has had drug-related problems.[132]

O'Sullivan's mother is from Sicily.[133][134] His girlfriend is Jo Langley, whom he met at Narcotics Anonymous,[135] and with whom he has a daughter, Lily Jo (born in February 2006), and a son, Ronnie, (born 12 June 2007).[136] He was reported to have split with Jo in early June 2008.[137] He has another daughter, Taylor-Ann (born in 1997), from a previous relationship.

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.[138][139][140][141] O'Sullivan also espouses an interest in Buddhism,[142] having spent many lunchtimes at the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green. However, he denies having a firm commitment to any religion.[143]

One of O'Sullivan's hobbies is motor racing. 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.[144][145] 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. Over the 15–16 August 2009 weekend, in the Volkswagen Racing Cup at Silverstone using a Volkswagen Jetta with the car number "147", he drove two 20-minute rounds.[146] In the first round he spun off into a gravel trap, but fared better in the second, in which he finished 14th.[147]

Performance and rankings timeline

Tournament 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 		2010/
11 		2011/
12
Ranking[15] UR[nb 1] 57 9 3 8 7 3 4 4 2 1 3 1 1 3 5 1 1 3 11
Ranking tournaments
Shanghai Masters Not Held 1R F W 1R 2R
UK Championship 1R W QF QF 1R W 1R QF SF W QF SF 2R 1R QF W 2R SF 1R 2R
German Masters[nb 2] Not Held 1R W SF NR Not Held 1R
Welsh Open 1R 1R QF 2R 2R 4R SF 3R 2R 2R QF W W 2R QF F 2R SF 1R
World Open[nb 3] 1R 1R QF 1R 2R 3R 3R QF F QF QF 2R W F QF F QF 2R F
China Open[nb 4] Not Held NR 2R W W QF Not Held 1R 1R SF 1R QF 1R 1R
World Championship 1R 2R QF SF 2R SF SF 1R W SF 1R W QF SF QF W 2R QF QF
Non-ranking tournaments
Premier League[nb 5] RR RR RR RR W RR SF SF W W SF A W W W W W F W W
The Masters A WR W F F QF QF QF 1R QF QF F W F W 1R W F 1R
Former ranking tournaments
Scottish Open[nb 6] 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 7] 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 Not Held
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 semi–finals F advanced to the final, tournament runner-up W won the tournament
DQ disqualified from the tournament A did not participate in the tournament 1R withdrew from 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.

Career finals

Ranking event finals: 33 (22 titles, 11 runner-ups)

Legend
World Championship (3–0)
UK Championship (4–0)
Other (15–11)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1. 1993 UK Championship Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–6 [148]
Runner-up 1. 1993 European Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 5–9 [149]
Winner 2. 1994 British Open Thailand James Wattana 9–4 [150]
Runner-up 2. 1995 Thailand Open Thailand James Wattana 6–9 [151]
Runner-up 3. 1995 British Open Scotland John Higgins 6–9 [150]
Winner 3. 1996 Asian Classic England Brian Morgan 9–8 [152]
Winner 4. 1996 German Open Canada Alain Robidoux 9–7 [149]
Winner 5. 1997 UK Championship (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–6 [148]
Winner 6. 1998 Scottish Open Scotland John Higgins 9–5 [153]
Winner 7. 1999 China Open England Stephen Lee 9–2 [154]
Winner 8. 2000 Scottish Open (2) Wales Mark Williams 9–1 [153]
Runner-up 4. 2000 Grand Prix Wales Mark Williams 5–9 [155]
Winner 9. 2000 China Open (2) Wales Mark Williams 9–3 [154]
Winner 10. 2001 World Snooker Championship Scotland John Higgins 18–14 [156]
Winner 11. 2001 UK Championship (3) Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 10–1 [148]
Winner 12. 2003 European Open Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–6 [149]
Winner 13. 2003 Irish Masters Scotland John Higgins 10–9 [157]
Runner-up 5. 2003 British Open (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–9 [150]
Winner 14. 2004 Welsh Open England Steve Davis 9–8 [158]
Winner 15. 2004 World Snooker Championship (2) Scotland Graeme Dott 18–8 [156]
Winner 16. 2004 Grand Prix England Ian McCulloch 9–5 [155]
Winner 17. 2005 Welsh Open (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–8 [158]
Winner 18. 2005 Irish Masters (2) Wales Matthew Stevens 10–8 [157]
Runner-up 6. 2005 Grand Prix (2) Scotland John Higgins 2–9 [155]
Runner-up 7. 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy China Ding Junhui 6–9 [159]
Runner-up 8. 2007 Grand Prix (3) Hong Kong Marco Fu 6–9 [155]
Winner 19. 2007 UK Championship (4) Scotland Stephen Maguire 10–2 [148]
Runner-up 9. 2008 Welsh Open England Mark Selby 8–9 [158]
Winner 20. 2008 World Snooker Championship (3) England Ali Carter 18–8 [156]
Winner 21. 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy England Dave Harold 9–3 [159]
Runner-up 10. 2008 Shanghai Masters England Ricky Walden 8–10 [154]
Winner 22. 2009 Shanghai Masters China Liang Wenbo 10–5 [154]
Runner-up 11 2010 World Open The World Open is a continuation of the Grand Prix but under a different format Australia Neil Robertson 1–5 [160]

Minor-ranking event finals: 4 (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Runner-up 1 2010 Players Tour Championship – Event 4 England Barry Pinches 3–4 [161]
Winner 1 2011 Players Tour Championship – Event 1 England Joe Perry 4–0 [98]
Winner 2 2011 Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy Wales Matthew Stevens 4–2 [102]
Runner-up 2 2011 Antwerp Open England Judd Trump 3–4 [103]

Non-ranking event finals: 34 (23 titles, 11 runner-ups)

Legend
Masters (4–5)
Premier League (9–1)[nb 8]
Other (10–5)
Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1 1993 Nescafé Extra Challenge Thailand James Wattana [nb 9] [162]
Winner 2 1993 Benson and Hedges Championship Scotland John Lardner 9–6 [163]
Winner 3 1995 Masters Scotland John Higgins 9–3 [164]
Winner 4 1996 Charity Challenge Scotland John Higgins 9–6 [165]
Runner-up 1 1996 Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 5–10 [164]
Runner-up 2 1997 Charity Challenge Scotland Stephen Hendry 8–9 [165]
Runner-up 3 1997 Masters (2) England Steve Davis 8–10 [164]
Winner 5 1997 European League Scotland Stephen Hendry 10–8 [166]
Winner 6 1997 Riley Superstar International England Jimmy White 5–3 [162]
Runner-up 4 1998 Charity Challenge (2) Scotland John Higgins 8–9 [165]
Disqualified [nb 10] 1998 Irish Masters Republic of Ireland Ken Doherty 9–3 [157]
Winner 7 1998 Scottish Masters Scotland John Higgins 9–7 [167]
Runner-up 5 1999 Charity Challenge (3) Scotland John Higgins 4–9 [165]
Runner-up 6 1999 Millenium Cup England Stephen Lee 2–7 [162]
Winner 8 2000 Champions Cup (2) Wales Mark Williams 7–5 [165]
Winner 9 2000 Scottish Masters (2) Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–6 [167]
Winner 10 2001 Irish Masters Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–8 [157]
Winner 11 2001 Premier League Snooker The Premier League Snooker is a continuation of the European League Scotland Stephen Hendry 9–7 [166]
Runner-up 7 2001 Scottish Masters Scotland John Higgins 6–9 [167]
Winner 12 2002 Premier League Snooker (3) Scotland John Higgins 9–4 [166]
Winner 13 2002 Scottish Masters (3) Scotland John Higgins 9–4 [167]
Runner-up 8 2004 Masters (3) England Paul Hunter 9–10 [164]
Winner 14 2005 Masters (2) Scotland John Higgins 10–3 [164]
Winner 15 2005 Premier League Snooker (4) Wales Mark Williams 6–0 [166]
Winner 16 2005 Premier League Snooker (5) Scotland Stephen Hendry 6–0 [166]
Runner-up 9 2006 Masters (4) Scotland John Higgins 9–10 [164]
Winner 17 2006 Premier League Snooker (6) England Jimmy White 7–0 [166]
Winner 18 2007 Masters (3) China Ding Junhui 10–3 [164]
Winner 19 2007 Irish Masters (2) England Barry Hawkins 9–1 [168]
Winner 20 2007 Premier League Snooker (7) Scotland John Higgins 7–4 [166]
Winner 21 2008 Premier League Snooker (8) England Mark Selby 7–2 [166]
Winner 22 2009 Masters (4) England Mark Selby 10–8 [164]
Runner-up 10 2009 Premier League Snooker England Shaun Murphy 3–7 [166]
Runner-up 11 2010 Masters (5) England Mark Selby 9–10 [164]
Winner 23 2010 Premier League Snooker (9) England Shaun Murphy 7–1 [166]

Team event finals: 1 (1 title)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1 2000 Nations Cup (with  Team England)  Wales 6–4 [169]

Amateur finals: 4 (3 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref.
Winner 1 1988 British Under-16 Championship [170]
Runner-up 1 1991 English Amateur Championship England Steve Judd 10–13 [171]
Winner 2 1991 IBSF World Under-21 Championship Belgium Patrick Delsemme 11–4 [171]
Winner 3 1991 Junior Pot Black Republic of Ireland Declan Murphy [172]

Notes

  1. ^ New players on the Main Tour don't have a ranking.
  2. ^ The event run under different name as German Open (1995/1996-1997/1998)
  3. ^ The event run under different name as LG Cup (2001/2002-2003/2004) and Grand Prix (1984/1985-2000/2001 and 2004/2005-2009/2010
  4. ^ The event run under different names as China International (1998/1999)
  5. ^ The event run under different name as European League (1992/1993-1996/1997)
  6. ^ The event run under different names such as International Open (1992/1993–1996/1997) and Players Championship (2003/2004)
  7. ^ The event run under different names such as European Open (1988/1989-1996/1997 and 2001/2002-2003/2004) and Irish Open (1998/1999)
  8. ^ O'Sullivan won the Premier League for a 10th time in 2011, but the tournament didn't use the standard rules of snooker.
  9. ^ No play-offs. Title decided on league table only.
  10. ^ Ronnie O'Sullivan was stripped of his title due to failing a drugs test after winning 9–3.

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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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