Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan is once again snooker's world champion after an 18-13 win over Judd Trump in the final at the Crucible. The success in Sheffield means ...

If you’re ever looking for a “dictionary definition of a sporting enigma”, then O’Sullivan is not too far away, said Paul Higham on Planet Sport. There’s no arguing that he is the “most naturally gifted snooker player of all time”, but The Rocket has also had his fair share of big controversies. When asked about his rival’s seven titles, Trump said it was an “amazing achievement” and he will go down as “the best player of all time”. Looking more like a lead singer from a BritPop band than a snooker player, he has brought some rock and roll sparkle to the sport. This is “Tiger Woods level”, said the 1991 world champion. “I think it meant more to him [Hendry] than me to have seven world titles but we will share it,” he said. It is just a number – I do not get too caught up in that.”

Ronnie O'Sullivan has talked about the emotions of having his dad at the Crucible this time, seeing him win his seventh title at the World Championship.

When asked if it was the nicest moment he had experienced in the Crucible, O’Sullivan replied: “Without a doubt. "He's always been so good to me throughout my career. What he said, Judd, just done me in! It was just lovely, just lovely to have them all here, you know what I mean? "I was so emotional. He also claimed snooker’s biggest prize in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2020 before his triumph over the Bristolian on Monday.

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.

The 46-year-old, who beat Judd Trump to win his seventh world championship on Monday, found solace in alcohol and drugs before going clean and taking up ...

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 said. “I was getting so bored I had to do something, and needed a goal to get out of bed in the morning,” he explained. “My dad used to say it was like a visit to him when he saw me on the TV,” he once told The Sun. “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,” O’Sullivan wrote in his 2013 autobiography “Running.”

O'Sullivan drew level with Stephen Hendry on seven world titles after an 18-13 victory over Trump.

I love Judd. I love him, he’s a great lad, and I didn’t realise what he thought of me until then. “I gave [Judd Trump] a big hug and I was just sobbing in his arms. “I was so emotional.

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.

The 46-year-old eclipsed his former coach Ray Reardon as the oldest World Championship winner when he beat Judd Trump 18-13 in Monday's final.

‘It was a bit of a challenge but I was up for it. I want to be known as someone who loves snooker and loves playing. It’s not one I want to win. ‘With snooker there’s a shelf life and I have to accept that. ‘I could probably play to my mid-50s if I wanted to. If I’m enjoying it and having fun with it then I’ll play as long as I want to play.

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.

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 ...

Start your Independent Premium subscription today. “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. And while Ferguson believes it will still take time for the balance to redress itself, he believes that when it eventually does so, the game will reap the benefits of the longevity of its current leading names.

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 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.

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.

Judd Trump has set up an exciting conclusion to the World Championship, winning the Monday afternoon session to reduce the deficit against Ronnie ...

Trump surveyed the table and with three snookers required, decided to fold it. Trump efficiently cleared the table to produce a break of 59. He capitalised on a mistake from an O'Sullivan safety shot to open with 107.

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 "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".

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."

SHEFFIELD: Ronnie O'Sullivan saw his quest for a historic seventh world snooker title halted by a Judd Trump fightback on Monday (May 2).

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The Englishman will be here on June 11 to officially open his snooker academy at The Grandstand. . Read more at straitstimes.com.

"We are also looking to create a feeder tour for more Asian talents to get onto the world tour. At the Crucible, he was on fire with his positional play and safety shots, often mopping up whenever his opponents made a mistake. The Englishman, who also won £500,000 (S$866,000), told The Straits Times: "Yeah, I'm looking forward to going over.

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.

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.

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.