Ronnie O'Sullivan
Image by Kevin Smithers of www.FocusStacked.co.uk
Name: Ronnie O’Sullivan
DOB: December 5th 1975
Nationality: English
Turned Pro: 1992
Highest Ranking: #1 (2002/3, 2004-6, 2008-)
Current Ranking: #1
Highest Break: 147×9
Career Highlights: Three times World Champion, Four times UK Champion, Four times Masters Champion, 2004 Grand Prix Champion
In short
Without doubt one of the most popular players ever to have played the game, three times world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is also one of the greatest, statistically behind only Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry.Famous for his fast and furious play, O’Sullivan is adept with his left arm as well as his right, something that in the past has proved controversial as well as brilliant. In fact that statement can always be applied to Ronnie, as brilliant as he is on the table, he is often in the headlines for those things he does off it. It is this mix of astounding play and incidents that makes him arguably the most intriguing character in the sport and keeps people coming back for more.
As a player though, when he is at the top of his game there are few who can live with him at the moment and there can be no doubt that his all-round game is far more solid than it was in the 1990’s. Back then while his long-potting was probably more consistent than it is today, his tendency to take on too many difficult shots and his questionable temperament arguably prevented him from fully maximising his potential. Nowadays however he has largely overcome these problems and the result is that he is back up to number one in the world rankings where he looks like remaining for a good while yet…
Early career
Having played snooker from a very early age, O’Sullivan demonstrated his talent for the sport with a break of 117 aged just ten. He followed this up with a witnessed 142 two years later before winning the British U16 championship the following year aged 13. His first 147 came in the 1991 English Amateur Championship and following victory in the IBSF World Under-21 Championship in the same year it was only a matter of time before he turned professional.
Going pro
Having done just that in 1992, O’Sullivan remarkably won his first 38 matches, a record unlikely ever to be broken with the qualifying structure now as it is. With his best result being a quarter-final, he ended his debut season ranked 57th and it wasn’t long before he was much higher.
The following season he won the prestigious UK Championship, beating the two best players in the world, Steve Davis and Stephen Hendry on the way. A second title in the form of the British Open came his way soon after and his results were good enough to move him up to 9th in the rankings at the end of the season.
The next two years failed to produce a ranking event for O’Sullivan but he did win the 1995 Benson & Hedges Masters and his results were good enough to move him up to number 3 in the rankings. In 1997 however he was to enjoy his most successful season to date, winning two ranking event titles in Germany and Asia as well as the Matchroom Premier League. He capped off the year with the fastest ever 147 break, made in just five minutes and 20 seconds in his first round at the 1997 World Championship. His run in the tournament was to be shortlived however as though he was to lose 13-12 to Darren Morgan in the next round.
Controversy came his way in the 1997/8 season when he was disqualified from the Benson & Hedges Irish Masters when he was found to have failed a drugs test. As has become a running theme during his career, an unhappy O’Sullivan stated that he threatened to retire from the sport, though this proved to be unfounded.
World title
A disappointing couple of seasons then followed before he was to finally capture snooker’s greatest prize. Coming into the 2001 World Championship with five titles already under his belt, it was up to John Higgins to stop him from making it six in the final. It was not to be however as O’Sullivan managed to open up a four frame lead that Higgins never managed to get back, eventually winning 18-14.
Although he failed to defend the title in 2002, (losing to Stephen Hendry in the semi-finals following what was one of the finest matches ever seen), O’Sullivan reached another milestone in his career by ending the season as the number one ranked player.
His second world crown was to come two years later in 2004 when he thrashed Scotland’s Graeme Dott 18-8 in what was a largely one sided affair. This victory was notable for O’Sullivan’s increasingly measured approach, down in part to the help of six-times world champion Ray Reardon who gave him some words of advice.
This form continued into the next season, his most successful to date in terms of ranking event victories with three from the seven that he entered. He again failed to successfully defend his world title however, this time losing 13-11 to 2002 winner Peter Ebdon. Again following this match O’Sullivan threatened to quit the game, though as previously this never materialised.
Barren spell
What was to follow was a barren run for O’Sullivan, who was not to win another ranking event until the 2007 UK Championship. The intervening years were anything but quiet however with him attracting controversy for walking out of his 2006 UK quarter-final against Stephen Hendry when 4-1 down. He also attracted criticism during that year’s world championship when he removed the tip from his cue during his match with Graeme Dott. This meant that that there had to be an unscheduled break for him to fit a new one, though it did him little good as he lost the match 18-11.
He did fare better in the invitational events however, managing to retain his stranglehold over the invitational Premier League and take his third Masters title with a dominant victory over China’s Ding Junhui in 2007.
Return to form and third world title
The 2007/8 season was his most consistent for while and saw him reach the final of four world ranking events, winning two. The first of his victories was to come in the UK Championship in Telford where having beaten Mark Selby with a 147 break in the deciding frame of his semi-final, he thrashed Scotland’s Stephen Maguire 10-2 in the final.
He then followed this up in May 2008 with his third world title, secured against another man making his debut in a final, Ali Carter. These victories ensured that he moved back to number 1 in the rankings for the first time since 2006.
2008/9
At the start of 2008/9 he picked up where left off by taking his 21st ranking event victory, this time in the Northern Ireland Trophy against Stoke’s Dave Harold. He looked like becoming only the third man to win three consecutive ranking events (after Hendry and Davis), when he followed this up by reaching the Shanghai Masters final soon after, but was upset by world number 35 Ricky Walden who took his maiden ranking event title with a shock 10-8 victory.
Since then in the ranking events Ronnie has not quite found his best form, losing out to Bristol youngster Judd Trump in the Grand Prix, Joe Perry in the UK Championship and Marco Fu in the Welsh Open. Many expected him to find his best form in Sheffield when he began the defence of his world title but it was not to be as he slipped to a 13-11 defeat to Mark Allen in the last 16. Due to his excellent 2007/8 season and his consistency the following season however, his opening round win over Stuart Bingham ensured that he would remain at the top of the rankings for a second consecutive season.
Despite this mixed form in the ranking events, he has continued to enjoy success in the invitational events however, taking a fifth straight victory in the Premier League whilst taking his fourth Wembley Masters crown by ending the reign of defending champion Mark Selby in the final. This victory was made all the more remarkable by the fact that he did it with a new cue after smashing his old one up during a practice session the week previously.
How many ranking titles he will end his career with is anybody’s guess, though he stated after his Northern Ireland success that he thinks that he can overhaul Steve Davis’ tally of 28 titles before he retires. Now 33 years old, whether he can catch Stephen Hendry’s all-time record of 36 is less certain, though he won’t be too far off by the time he hangs up his cue. Either way, his place among the greats is secure and like Davis and Hendry, he is a player that will never be forgotten.
Official Website: http://www.ronnieosullivan.tv/
Tournament Victories:
Ranking Event wins (21)
| Event | Year |
| World Championship | 2001, 2004, 2008 |
| UK Championship | 1993, 1997, 2001, 2007 |
| Grand Prix | 2004 |
| British Open | 1994 |
| Regal Welsh Open | 2004, 2005 |
| German Open | 1996 |
| Regal Scottish Open | 1998, 2000 |
| European Open | 2003 |
| Northern Ireland Trophy | 2008 |
| China Open | 1996, 1999, 2000 |
| Irish Masters | 2003, 2005 |
Non-Ranking Event wins (21)
| Event | Year |
| Wembley Masters | 1995, 2005, 2007, 2009 |
| Scottish Masters | 1998, 2000, 2002 |
| Champions Cup | 2000 |
| Riley Superstar International | 1997 |
| Liverpool Victoria Charity Challenge | 1996 |
| Benson & Hedges Championship | 1993 |
| Premier League | 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 (04/05), 2005 (05/06), 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| Irish Masters | 2001, 2007 |
