With a red standing between him and a historic 1,000th century break, Ronnie O’Sullivan leaned down and lined up his shot. It was the easiest of pots; a much too straightforward approach for the maverick cueist.
So he stood back up, smiled at the anxious Players Championship final crowd, and proceeded to pocket the red nonchalantly with his left hand instead.
It was yet another instance of O’Sullivan veering off the beaten path — a trait that has helped endear him to snooker fans around the world.
- Born: December 5, 1975 (Wordsley, England)
- Nickname: The Rocket
- Highest ranking: No. 1
- Current ranking: No. 2
- Word Championship titles: 5 (2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013)
Apart from frequently shifting to a southpaw stance, O’Sullivan is best known for playing at a blistering pace. This is an exceptional quality, given that the sport demands complex calculations involving angles, spin, power and positional play.
A window into O’Sullivan’s brilliant mind was opened at the 1997 World Championship, when the Englishman blitzed his way to a century in around four minutes, before making the maximum break (147) in just five minutes and 20 seconds. It was a milestone moment for O’Sullivan, one which inspired a generation to frenetically rush through their shots in neighbourhood snooker parlours.
He has made the headlines for the wrong reasons as well. O’Sullivan has been pulled up for a range of offences, from minor ones like breaching the official dress-code for playing without shoes (2015 World Championship) to more serious charges such as assaulting a tournament official (1996 World Championship).
A few years ago, at Cardiff, he deliberately potted a pink — instead of a black — to turn down an easy chance to make a 147 because he believed that the £10,000 prize money bonus was too little. It was not the first time that O’Sullivan had grumbled about a lack of financial incentives on the professional tour.
Cult of personality
More recently, in the 2018 World Championship, purists were horrified when O’Sullivan shoulder-barged Ali Carter during their heated second-round clash.
- • He made his first century break at age 10
- • He became the youngest player (15 years, 98 days) to make a 147, at the 1991 English Amateur Championship, a record which stood until 2017
- • He became the youngest player to win a ranking event (17 years, 358 days), at the 1993 UK Championship. His first pro century break came in his debut match against Jason Scott at the 1992 UK Championship qualifying event
- Stats as on March 19
While these antics do not please the authorities, they have raised his appeal among fans. His unapologetic ways have made him an anti-establishment, working-class hero.
Many of his behavioural troubles can be traced to the imprisonment of his father in 1992, when O’Sullivan was only 16. The senior O’Sullivan was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years, leaving the son heartbroken. To make matters worse, his mother served prison time too, around the same period, for tax evasion.
He plunged into clinical depression and battled alcohol and drug addictions. The game’s biggest star entered rehab in 2000, and a year later, a huge burden was lifted when he clinched the first of five World Championship titles.
Battling demons
The high was short-lived, as O’Sullivan — a self-confessed perfectionist — continued to struggle with mental illnesses. In 2006, O’Sullivan conceded and walked out mid-way through a match against his idol Stephen Hendry. The inner demons were simply too powerful to push aside. On the family front, he was embroiled in a custody battle over his children from a previous relationship.
| Most century breaks | |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 1,003 |
| Stephen Hendry | 775 |
| John Higgins | 750 |
| Neil Robertson | 624 |
| Judd Trump | 602 |
| Mark Selby | 577 |
| Ding Junhul | 500 |
| Marco Fu | 490 |
| Shaun Murphy | 479 |
| Mark Williams | 460 |
| (Stats as on March 19) |
These personal setbacks led to O’Sullivan taking a few breaks from the professional tour; he even made noises about quitting the sport.
Much to the delight of his fans, he managed to get back on track, with the help of renowned sports psychologist Steve Peters. O’Sullivan also turned to cross-country and distance running to elevate his mood, and to escape the monotony of the daily grind.
| Most 147 breaks | |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 15 |
| Stephen Hendry | 11 |
| John Higgins | 9 |
| Ding Junhui | 6 |
| Shaun Murphy | 5 |
| (Stats as on March 19) |
Although his issues with depression have not disappeared, O’Sullivan, now 43, is better equipped to deal with them. Having survived the trials and tribulations of a 27-year career, O’Sullivan has shifted his focus to the green baize once again.
Despite having competed in fewer than half of the calendar’s ranking events, O’Sullivan has a great chance of ending Mark Selby’s four-year reign as World No. 1. If O’Sullivan does climb that peak, it will make for yet another fascinating chapter in the life of the flawed genius.
