Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan came to Sheffield this year newly installed as world no.1 and chasing history. He leaves the steel city confirmed as snooker's greatest ...

Yet Hendry was never quite the same after his seventh victory. He keeps himself fit and has the natural talent to underpin the hard work he puts in. His great friend and Eurosport colleague Jimmy Whitefirmly believes O’Sullivan can go on to win as many as 10 world titles. His record of seven world titles was set in 1999. It means it is all over for another year and we are left to reflect on the 17 days just gone. He says they are just numbers but there will surely be a day when he looks back on it all with genuine pride. The 2022 edition was a memorable one, not just because of its historic ending. The early part of the final was disappointing as a spectacle before Trump made a fight of it. Before the last session of that year’s final, there was a procession of former champions. He was 25 and his great contemporaries, Higgins and Mark Williams, had already won the game’s most prized title. In snooker, it’s his mind that is tested to the full. Some in the sport complain that too many tournaments become the 'Ronnie O’Sullivan Show', but this really was.

PETER CARLINE AT THE CRUCIBLE: O'Sullivan pulled level with Stephen Hendry's Crucible crowns after bossing last night's final session to win an undulating, ...

And it came in style - a 107 break, his first century of the final. The pair have been the dominant players at the Crucible in the last four years. Energised and newly confident, Trump won the session 6-2. But his decision to attempt a double on a red when safety was the better option cost him dear. Hawkish and harrying, referee Olivier Marteel could not replace the balls fast enough for his snooker brain and body. This triumph adds to world titles won in in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2020.

Ronnie O'Sullivan's record-equalling reign at the top of his sport can inspire a new golden generation of snooker talent, according to the chairman of the ...

“I personally felt the situation was handled very well by Olivier, and I think Ronnie knows deep down that Olivier is one of the best referees in the world.” “Olivier Marteel spotted something that he felt he needed to warn Ronnie for, and he proceeded to warn Ronnie during the match, in the arena, which is the right thing to do,” Ferguson said. “But the key thing for me is to see these younger players competing against the great players, and that’s what’s going to help them going forward.”

O'Sullivan has now matched Stephen Hendry's record of seven world crowns but feels his game is still lacking.

I enjoy being on the circuit, I enjoy being on the road. I want to be known as someone who loves snooker and loves playing.” “I’m prepared to do that. “I don’t consider myself the greatest ever at all,” said O’Sullivan, who held off a valiant fightback by Trump having started the day with a seven-frame advantage. “All the other tournaments, why not? I don’t want to be considered the greatest.

Ronnie O'Sullivan is a unique seventh wonder of the sporting world after equalling Stephen Hendry's Crucible record in Sheffield, writes Desmond Kane.

A bit like Roger Federer in tennis, it is all at once both soothing and reassuring on the senses. The speed of thought and technique establishes O’Sullivan on a snooker plain as a spiritual experience with 1,169 century breaks and counting compiled. Boxing and figure skating are two sports that are settled on the views of judges for performance. A place for everything and everything in its place, so to speak. There is so much good stuff going on, if I lose it is a little dent whereas before it would be a write-off. Yet with O’Sullivan, a touch of farce is also never far away. Respectfully, the no-crowd is a massive leveller in my honest opinion." His trademark no-nonsense demeanour, stylish swagger and fearless shot making quickly dismissed any sense of a wobble. “Davis and Hendry did almost all of their stuff in a 10-year stint and that's it. To say O’Sullivan has made up for lost time in snooker would be an understatement. But Ronnie's shown up all the time, and he's dug as deep as anyone at this tournament. Accepted wisdom suggests he should no longer be burning blokes like Trump, but then again Father Time is also a huge fan of O’Sullivan doing his thing with a snooker cue.

Ronnie O'Sullivan won a record-equalling seventh World Snooker Championship title on Monday as he defeated Judd Trump 18-13 at the Crucible Theatre.

It's an amazing achievement and he's the best player of all time - he keeps getting better and better. The seven-time world champion appears to be suggesting he will pursue an eighth in 2023, while his praise towards Trump was certainly warranted after his opponent battled back a 12-5 deficit make it 14-11. 2Goats together’. O’Sullivan shared the message to his story and thanked Fury for his support. “I like to win, but it's not the be-all and end-all. On Monday afternoon, Trump won six of eight frames to make the score 14-11 before O’Sullivan sealed his famous win and the £500,000 prize as he took four of the evening’s first six frames. O'Sullivan's famous win will undoubtedly add more fuel to the debate regarding the greatest snooker player of all time.

John Parrott was working for BBC coverage as Ronnie O'Sullivan put in a virtuoso display to beat Judd Trump to claim his seventh World Championship title.

But the overriding story was his sublime play, which has now taken him to a total of 21 Triple Crown titles. Following his semi-final win over John Higgins, he joked he would be taking a hairdryer into the arena for the final after sitting on a wet sea t. He is the most talented player we've seen in the sport and this is just rewards for his talent. In his first-round match over David Gilbert, he was reprimanded for making a lewd gesture after missing a simple pot. "I think he's the most talented sportsman in Britain. This is Tiger Woods level. "Don't listen to him saying he doesn't practice," Parrott said, following his triumph.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has warned his snooker rivals he may keep playing at the highest level until his mid-50s as the dust settles on another world championship ...

He’s a very emotional man and they can get the better of him but he’s learned to recognise the trigger points, which is why he’s presenting as a different person at the snooker table. There’s probably enough content to do a five-hour show.” But while the Netflix documentary about snooker’s grand master of the baize will culminate with his latest triumph, you get the sneaking suspicion that O’Sullivan’s own story is still some way from completion. By his own admission, O’Sullivan was ready to walk away from snooker a decade ago before uniting with Peters. Since then, he has broken nearly every record there is to break on the baize, including the most career centuries, most ranking titles and a further four world crowns in little more than 10 years. How fitting too that the latest success for snooker’s serial winner was followed every step of the way by a camera crew who will produce an upcoming Netflix documentary about O’Sullivan’s life and career. “I could probably play to my mid-50s if I wanted to,” he said. O’Sullivan equalled Stephen Hendry’s modern-era record of seven Crucible titles by defeating Judd Trump on Monday, further erasing any doubt to the debate that he is snooker’s greatest player.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has dismissed the accolades that poured in after his Crucible victory on Monday night and insisted no amount of world titles will convince him he is the greatest. Most observers agree that O'Sullivan's 18-13 triumph over Judd Trump, ...

I enjoy being on the circuit, I enjoy being on the road. I want to be known as someone who loves snooker and loves playing.” I want to be known as someone who loves snooker and loves playing.” “I’m prepared to do that. “I don’t consider myself the greatest ever at all,” said O’Sullivan, who held off a valiant fightback by Trump having started the day with a seven-frame advantage. I don’t want to be considered the greatest.

It is Ronnie O'Sullivan versus Judd Trump for the big one, and we'll be with every shot. Stream all the action live and on-demand on discovery+.

He hasn't put Ronnie under any sort of pressure. "Trump is below-par, we have to say that. His cue-ball control is there.

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Three years later, he turned professional and won 74 of his first 76 qualifying matches. His mother was then sentenced to a year in 1996 for tax evasion and their son was left to care for his eight-year-old sister Danielle. His father, Ronnie O’Sullivan Snr, was sentenced to life in prison in 1992 for murder and was released after serving 18 years. His first world final came in 2001 and he defeated John Higgins 18-14 to claim first world title and reach number two in the world rankings. But reports now suggest that the pair are back together. He made his first competitive century break at the age of 10 and went on to win the British Under-16 Championship at the age of 13.

You may have seen the famous clip of Diego Maradona's warm-up routine, from the second leg of Napoli's Uefa Cup semi-final against Bayern Munich in 1989: the ...

There is no one dominating the sport like he did, like Tiger Woods did.” It says something of the class of both men that Hendry was just as effusive about O’Sullivan. “No one does it better,” he said. And Hendry did all this despite never being a darling of the masses, like the Rocket or Whirlwind. We hear a lot of talk about the benefits of home advantage in sport but Hendry usually had the crowd against him – and worse. But the Scot was able to surpass it in 1994, beating White 18-17 in the final despite fracturing an elbow while going to the bathroom in the middle of the night earlier in the tournament. Back then Hendry could pot with the best of them and he was also blessed with a natural immunity to pressure. Perhaps the crucial moment came at 14-9 down as Hendry, with the cue ball in the jaws of the middle pocket, rolled in a brilliant brown. It is not just that Maradona pogos up and down with the ball seemingly glued to his head.

O'Sullivan won 18-13 after dominating the evening session, earning a seventh world title to equal Stephen Hendry's record.

No player goes through a world championship triumph without one session to forget and in the heat of the moment on Monday afternoon when Trump threatened to push O’Sullivan all the way, it was easy to forget that was the first time The Rocket had wavered all tournament long. Trump needed a strong start in the evening but he did not get it. “He will go down to the best player of all-time,” he said. However, he won six of the eight frames available in the afternoon to reduce O’Sullivan’s cushion to three frames. At times O’Sullivan is so laid back about the magnitude of his achievements in the game that he is practically horizontal. But despite Judd Trump making everyone wonder if the impossible could really happen at one stage on Monday afternoon, the world championship ended in yet more history for Ronnie O’Sullivan: and this bit really means something.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has opened up a commanding lead over Judd Trump at the half way point of the final of the 2022 World Snooker Championship, edging a step ...

He is also the youngest ever winner, having been only 21 when he claimed his first title in 1990. O’Sullivan already holds the record for most maximum breaks in professional tournament snooker with 15 and he has also completed the feat in the shortest time – with his maiden 147 at the 1997 World Championship taking just five minutes and 20 seconds. In the unlikely event that Ronnie O’Sullivan can make another maximum in the last day of the tournament he will break the record, win an additional £40,000 and share the £15,000 highest break price with Neil Robertson – who has already had a 147 break this year.

An emotional O'Sullivan has held off a fightback from Judd Trump in Sheffield, England.

Trump would win two of the next three, and ensured another bit of history by delivering a record-breaking 109th century of the tournament — fittingly, with a clearance of 109 — to close the gap to 17-13 before O'Sullivan got over the line. O'Sullivan sailed into the final day with a 12-5 advantage but Trump closed the gap to 13-10 before the pair shared the last two frames of an engrossing afternoon. He choked me up."

Ronnie O'Sullivan, who won his first world title in 2001, broke the record previously held by Ray Reardon who won his sixth title at 45.

Hendry won all of his in the 1990s. Hendry was in the commentary box at the Crucible and said it was a privilege to share the record with O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan also has won a record seven titles at each of the Masters and the UK Championship, the other two so-called “majors” in snooker.

Ronnie "Rocket" O'Sullivan equalled Stephen Hendry's record of seven world snooker titles in Sheffield on Monday but he has more in common with another ...

I couldn't deprive my dad of that." "I have a lot of trophies and I thought 'I am only going to put it in my suitcase, take it home and put it on the mantelpiece'," he told AFP. "I was getting so bored I had to do something, and needed a goal to get out of bed in the morning," he explained. Running eventually proved to be the cure. "I suppose it was a lot to deal with but at the time I didn't think anything of it," O'Sullivan said in 2016. "I was depressed because I'd stopped drinking and taking drugs, but I only drank and took drugs in the first place because I was depressed," he said in his 2013 autobiography "Running".

Despite O'Sullivan sailing into the final day, some questions were raised after he clashed with the referee, who issued him with a formal warning for a lewd ...

After the game, Trump paid a "massive congratulations" to his competitor and said it had "been a pleasure to share the table with him". O'Sullivan went on to take the first two frames in the evening with breaks of 82 and 88, each time building on errors made by the 33-year-old. Trump won the first three frames of the day, taking the score to 13-9.

Ronnie O'Sullivan revealed he never believed he would win a seventh world title as he spoke about his emotional embrace with Judd Trump.

So it was tough. "I just thought, 'I don't know if I've got it in me'. I was so tired and I was saying 'just hold it together' because little lapses can cost you three or four frames. Every match was tough," he said on a bruising fortnight. When asked if it was the nicest moment he had experienced in the Crucible, O’Sullivan replied: “Without a doubt. "That was torture. And he said such lovely words.

Widely regarded as the most talented snooker player ever, O'Sullivan surely secured his status as the game's greatest by beating Judd Trump 18-13 to win a ...

Hendry was in the commentary box at the Crucible and said it was a privilege to share the record with O'Sullivan. A right-hander who is also comfortable playing left-handed, O'Sullivan has the most career ranking titles (39), is the only player to make more than 1,000 competitive centuries, and has made more maximum breaks of 147 in competitive play than anyone else. O'Sullivan also has won a record seven titles at each of the Masters and the U.K. Championship, the other two so-called “majors” in snooker.

Ronnie O'Sullivan secured a record-equalling Crucible crown as he stamped out Judd Trump's resistance to win the World Championship for a seventh time.

But his challenge would end there as O’Sullivan delivered a trademark knock of 85 in the 31st frame to seal a five-frame victory, a seventh trophy and a £500,000 winner’s cheque. He produced another majestic long red at the start of the 30th frame before a series of smart pots bailed him out after he ran out of position. O’Sullivan broke down on 16 attempting a double of his own, but was soon allowed back to the table and another half-century, this time a 75, saw him move within a frame of the trophy. Trump returned from the interval in the knowledge he would have to win six frames without reply to win a second title. The 2019 champion was first on the scoreboard with a magnificent cross-double into the middle pocket, but his follow-up on the brown found the jaws as Trump continued to be allergic to potting anything that was not red. Those with tickets for the fourth session were likely wondering if they would get any snooker, with Trump needing to win three frames on Monday afternoon simply to force a finale.

Ronnie O'Sullivan won a record-equalling seventh World Snooker Championship as he beat Judd Trump 18-13 in front of a capacity crowd at the Crucible in ...

Trump won the opening three frames on Monday, and really should have won all four before the mid-session interval. But O'Sullivan won the first two frames of the evening session to again earn himself a handy cushion. you can see it out there, he barely misses a ball over the 31 frames." "He keeps getting better and better. These 17 days they were on my side." Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Judd Trump 18-13 to win the World Snooker Championship final at the Crucible in Sheffield, equalling Stephen Hendry's record of seven world titles; the 46-year-old, who won his first in 2001, becomes the oldest ever winner of the championship

Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed his seventh World Championship title on Monday at the age of 46... even though he vowed to retire at 45. Yet here he is once more.

A perfect representation of the game O'Sullivan plays. 'If he saw weakness, he just went for the jugular,' O'Sullivan recalled. Snooker feels different when O'Sullivan is at the table, the way cricket does with Ben Stokes at the crease, or football with Paul Gascoigne on the ball. There is none of the angst he can bring to the baize, yet none of the brilliance, too. O'Sullivan thinks there is no comparison between him and these icons, probably on the days when he sees only snooker's gloom and isolation. For that day, O'Sullivan gave the impression he wouldn't be around for long, even if he somehow resisted the ravages of age and stayed 20/20. 'I can't be the ambassador of smiles,' he said. Neither won the big one past the age of 32. Steve Davis won six titles, all in the 1980s; Stephen Henry seven, all in the 1990s. He breaks left-handed, continues right-handed, he can play alternate shots, he can bring that out just to escape from a fix. Loving the competition, working extraordinarily hard to be the best at it, but sometimes hating its interior nature, the absence of sunlight, all darkness, shadows and silence when he could be out running. Everyone thinks they can pot, the way they think they can throw a dart. But he's the oldest world champion in history.