Snooker

Snooker player playing a shot with a rest
Highest governing body	World Snooker Association
First played	19th century
Characteristics
Categorization	Cue sport
Equipment	Snooker balls
Olympic	No But has IOC recognition

Snooker (British English pronunciation:  /ˈsnuːkər/^[1]) is a cue sport that is played on a green or other coloured baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. The (baize) cloth on a snooker table has a directional nap running from the balk end of the table towards the end with the (black ball) spot. This affects how a ball rolls depending on which direction it is hit or shot. A regular (full-size) table is 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m). It is played using a cue and 22 snooker balls: one white cue ball, 15 red balls worth one point each, and six balls of different colours: yellow (2 points), green (3), brown (4), blue (5), pink (6) and black (7).^[2] A player (or team) wins a frame (individual game) of snooker by scoring more points than the opponent(s), using the cue ball to pot the red and coloured balls. A player wins a match when a certain number of frames have been won.

Snooker, generally regarded as having been invented in India by British Army officers, is popular in many of the English-speaking and Commonwealth countries,^[3] with top professional players attaining multi-million pound career earnings from the game.^[4] The sport is now increasingly popular in China.^[5]

History[link]

Illustration of a game of three ball pocket billiards in early 19th century Tübingen, Germany

It is commonly accepted that snooker originated in the later half of the 19th century.^[6] Billiards had been a popular activity amongst British Army officers stationed in India, and variations on the more traditional billiard games were devised. One variation, devised in the officers' mess in Jabalpur during 1874^[7] or 1875,^[6] was to add coloured balls in addition to the reds and black which were used for pyramid pool and life pool.^[8] The rules were formally finalized in 1884 by Sir Neville Chamberlain at Ootacamund. The word snooker also has military origins, being a slang term for first-year cadets or inexperienced personnel.^[6] One version of events states that Colonel Sir Neville Chamberlain of the Devonshire regiment (not the later Prime Minister of the same name) was playing this new game when his opponent failed to pot a ball and Chamberlain called him a snooker.^[8] It thus became attached to the billiards game now bearing its name as inexperienced players were labelled as snookers.^[9]

One such effect of snooker in England was its growing popularity, but generally it was still a game for the gentry and many well established gentleman clubs which had a billiards table would not allow nonmembers inside to play. To accommodate the popularity of the game, smaller and more open snooker-specific clubs started to be formed.

The game of snooker grew in the later half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, and by 1927 the first World Snooker Championship^[6] had been organised by Joe Davis who, as a professional English billiards and snooker player, moved the game from a pastime activity into a more professional sphere.^[10] Joe Davis won every world championship until 1946 when he retired. The game went into a decline through the 1950s and 1960s with little interest generated outside of those who played. In 1959, Davis introduced a variation of the game, known as snooker plus, to try to improve the game's popularity by adding two extra colours. However, it never caught on.

A major advance occurred in 1969, when David Attenborough commissioned the snooker tournament Pot Black to demonstrate the potential of colour television, with the green table and multi-coloured balls being ideal for showing off the advantages of colour broadcasting.^[11][12] The TV series became a ratings success and was for a time the second most popular show on BBC Two.^[13] Interest in the game increased and the 1978 World Championship was the first to be fully televised.^[3][14] The game quickly became a mainstream sport^[15] in the UK, Ireland and much of the Commonwealth and has enjoyed much success in the last 30 years, with most of the ranking tournaments being televised. In 1985 a total of 18.5 million viewers watched the concluding frame of the world championship final between Dennis Taylor and Steve Davis.^[16] In recent years the loss of tobacco sponsorship has led to a decrease in the number of professional tournaments, although some new sponsors have been sourced;^[17] and the popularity of the game in the Far East and China, with emerging talents such as Liang Wenbo and more established players such as Ding Junhui and Marco Fu, bodes well for the future of the sport in that part of the world.^[5][18]

The game[link]

Snooker table with balls placed in their starting positions

Game in progress on a half-size table. A red ball about to be potted.

The object of the game is to score more points than the opponent by potting object balls in a predefined order. At the start of a frame, the balls are positioned as shown and the players take turns to hit a shot in a single strike from the tip of the cue, their aim being to pot one of the red balls and score a point. Whenever a red ball is potted, the shooter is allowed to pot one of the colours. If successful, they score the value of the colour potted, and it is returned to its correct position on the table. This process continues until they fail to pot the desired ball, at which point their opponent comes back to the table to play the next shot. The game continues in this manner until all the reds are potted and only the 6 colours are left on the table; at that point the aim is to pot the colours in the order yellow 2, green 3, brown 4, blue 5, pink 6, black 7 (unless sunken along with the cue ball on the last shot, then the penalty is the sum of the foul and the value of the black ball), with the balls not being returned to play. When the final ball is potted, the player with the most points wins.^[2]

Points may also be scored in a game when a player's opponent fouls. A foul can occur for numerous reasons, such as hitting a colour first when the player was attempting to hit a red, potting the cue ball, or failing to escape from "a snooker" (a situation where the previous player finished their turn leaving the cue ball in a position where the object ball cannot be hit directly). Points gained from a foul vary from a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 7 if the black ball is involved.^[2]

One game, from the balls in their starting position until the last ball is potted, is called a frame. A match generally consists of a predefined number of frames and the player who wins the most frames wins the match overall. Most professional matches require a player to win five frames, and are called "Best of Nine" as that is the maximum possible number of frames. Tournament finals are usually best of 17 or best of 19, while the World Championship uses longer matches — ranging from best of 19 in the qualifiers and the first round proper, up to 35 frames in length (first to 18), and is played over two days.^[19]

Professional and competitive amateur matches are officiated by a referee who is the sole judge of fair play. The referee also respots the colours on to the table and calls out how many points the player has scored during a break. Professional players usually play the game in a sporting manner, declaring fouls the referee has missed, acknowledging good shots from their opponent, or holding up a hand to apologise for fortunate shots.

An extended spider, which can be used to bridge over balls obstructing a shot that is too far away to be bridged by hand

Other terminology used in snooker includes a player's break, which refers to the total number of consecutive points a player has amassed (excluding fouls) when at one visit to the table. A player attaining a break of 15, for example, could have reached it by potting a red then a black, then a red then a pink, before failing to pot the next red. The traditional maximum break in snooker is to pot all reds with blacks then all colours, which would yield 147 points; this is often known as a "147" or a "maximum".^[20]

Video of a snooker break-off shot

Accessories used for snooker include chalk for the tip of the cue, rests of various sorts (needed often, due to the length of a full-size table), a triangle to rack the reds, and a scoreboard. One drawback of snooker on a full-size table is the size of the room (22 by 16 feet (6.7 × 4.9 m)), which is the minimum required for comfortable cueing room on all sides.^[21] This limits the number of locations in which the game can easily be played. While pool tables are common to many pubs, snooker tends to be played either in private surroundings or in public snooker halls. The game can also be played on smaller tables using fewer red balls. The variants in table size are: 10 ft × 5 ft, 9 ft × 4.5 ft, 8 ft × 4 ft, 6 ft × 3 ft (the smallest for realistic play) and 4 ft × 2 ft. Smaller tables can come in a variety of styles, such as fold away or dining-table convertible.

Governance and tournaments[link]

Organization[link]

The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA, also known as World Snooker), founded in 1968 as the Professional Billiard Players' Association,^[22] is the governing body for the professional game. Its subsidiary, World Snooker, based in Bristol, England, organises the professional tour. Over the years the board of the WPBSA has changed many times, which some argue is an indication of in-fighting within the sport.^[23][24][25] The amateur game is governed by the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF).^[26]

Tournaments[link]

Professional snooker players can play on the World Snooker main tour ranking circuit. Ranking points, earned by players through their performances over the previous two seasons, determine the current world ranking.^[27] A player's ranking determines what level of qualification they require for ranking tournaments. The elite of professional snooker is generally regarded as the "Top 16" ranking players,^[28] who are not required to pre-qualify for any of the tournaments.^[29] The tour contains 96 players — the top 64 from the previous two seasons, the 8 highest ranked professional players on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit who are not in the top 64, 12 players from the Q School, and various regional, junior and amateur champions.^[30]

The most important event in professional snooker is the World Championship,^[31] held annually since 1927 (except during World War II and between 1958 and 1963). The tournament has been held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England since 1977, and was sponsored by Embassy from 1976 to 2005.^[17] Since 2005, tobacco companies have not been allowed to sponsor sporting events in the United Kingdom, and the World Championship had to find a new sponsor. It was announced in January 2006 that the 2006–2010 world championships would be sponsored by online casino 888.com. The Championship is currently sponsored by BetFred.com after 888.com pulled out of their five year sponsorship deal after three years.^[32] On 15 April 2009 the World Snooker Championship website announced that Betfred.com would be the new sponsor of the World Championship for the next four years.^[33][34]

The status of winning the World Championship is great, and it is the most highly valued prize in professional snooker,^[35] both in terms of financial reward (£250,000 for the winner)^[36] as well as ranking points and prestige. The World Championship is televised extensively in the UK by the BBC^[37] and gains significant coverage in Europe on Eurosport^[38] and in the Far East.

The group of tournaments that come next in importance are the other ranking tournaments. Players in these tournaments score world ranking points. A high ranking ensures qualification for next year's tournaments, invitations to invitational tournaments and an advantageous draw in tournaments.^[28] The most prestigious of these after the World Championship is the UK Championship. Third in line are the invitational tournaments, to which most of the highest ranked players are invited. The most important tournament in this category is The Masters,^[39] which to most players is the second or third most sought-after prize.^[40]

In an attempt to answer criticisms that televised matches can be slow or get bogged down in lengthy safety exchanges and that long matches causes problems for advertisers,^[41] an alternative series of timed tournaments has been organised by Matchroom Sport Chairman Barry Hearn. The shot-timed Premier League Snooker was established, with seven players invited to compete at regular United Kingdom venues, televised on Sky Sports. Players have twenty-five seconds to take each shot, with five time-outs per player per match. While some success has been achieved with this format it generally does not receive the same amount of press attention or status as the regular ranking tournaments.

There are also other tournaments that have less importance, earn no world ranking points and are not televised. These can change on a year-to-year basis depending on calendars and sponsors.

Criticism[link]

Multiple players, like Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Allen and Steve Davies, warn that there are so many tournaments that players burning out is a danger. 2012 O'Sullivan played fewer tournaments to be able to see his children, and is only ranked 9 now in the world rankings. ^[42]

Equipment[link]

This section requires expansion with: a sentence or two about the balls & table; link to the main articles on these topics..

Chalk and cue.

Chalk

The tip of the cue is "chalked" to ensure good contact between the cue and the cue-ball.

Cue

A stick, made of wood or fibreglass, the tip of which is used to strike the cue-ball.

Extension

A shorter baton that fits over, or screws into, the back end of the cue, effectively lengthening it. Is used for shots where the cue-ball is a long distance from the player.

Rest

A stick with an X-shaped head that is used to support the cue when the cue ball is out of reach at normal extension.

Rest head adaptor

An attachment that slips onto a conventional rest head to make a spider or just to give a slightly different bridge.

Hook rest

Identical to the normal rest, yet with a hooked metal end. It is used to set the rest around another ball. The hook rest is the most recent invention in snooker.

Spider

Similar to the rest but with an arch-shaped head; it is used to elevate and support the tip of the cue above the height of the cue-ball.

Swan (or swan-neck spider)

This equipment, consisting of a rest with a single extended neck and a fork-like prong at the end, is used to give extra cueing distance over a group of balls.

Triangle/Rack

The piece of equipment is used for gathering the red balls into the formation required for the break to start a frame.

Extended rest

Similar to the regular rest, but with a mechanism at the butt end which makes it possible to extend the rest by up to three feet.

Extended spider

A hybrid of the swan and the spider. Its purpose is to bridge over large packs of reds. Is less common these days in professional snooker but can be used in situations where the position of one or more balls prevents the spider being placed where the striker desires.

Half butt

Usually housed underneath the side of the table, the half butt is a combination of a table length rest and cue which is rarely used unless the cue ball needs to be struck in such a way that the entire length of the table is the actual obstacle.

Ball marker

A multi-purpose instrument with a "D" shaped notch, which a referee can (1) place next to a ball, in order to mark the position of it. They can then remove the ball to clean it; (2) use to judge if a ball is preventing a colour from being placed on its spot; (3) use to judge if the cue ball can hit the extreme edge of a "ball on" when awarding a free ball (by placing it alongside the potentially intervening ball).

The Cloth

The cloth is usually a green baize with a directional nap. The nap will affect the direction of the cue ball depending on which direction the cue ball is shot and also on whether left or right side (spin) is placed on the ball. Even if the cue ball is hit in exactly the same way, the nap will cause a different effect depending on whether the ball is hit down table (towards the black ball spot) or up table towards the balk line. The cloth on a snooker table should never be vacuumed as this can destroy the nap, especially if the vacuum head has beater brushes. The best method is to brush the cloth in a straight line from the balk end to the far end. Multiple brush strokes are fine as long as they are are straight in direction (i.e. not across the table). Some table men will also then drag a dampened cloth wrapped around a short piece of board (like a two by four) to collect any remaining fine dust and help lay the nap down.

Notable players[link]

In the professional era that began with Joe Davis in the 1930s and continues up until the present day, a relatively small number of players have succeeded at the top level.^[43] Reaching and maintaining a place amongst the snooker elite is a tough task, with the standards of the game being such that it requires many years of dedication and effort as well as natural ability.^[44]

Certain players have tended to dominate the sport through the decades. John Pulman is generally regarded as the principal player through the 1960s, Ray Reardon through the 1970s, Steve Davis through the 1980s and Stephen Hendry through the 1990s, winning 6 (1970, 1973–1976 and 1978), 6 (1981, 1983, 1984 and 1987–1989) and 7 (1990, 1992–1996 and 1999) World Championships respectively. No one dominated in the 2000s, however Ronnie O'Sullivan won the title on four occasions (2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and Mark Williams and John Higgins won twice (2000, 2003 and 2007, 2009 respectively). Higgins has four world titles in total, having won his first title in 1998 and his fourth in 2011. The last successful title defence was in 1996 when Hendry won the sixth of his seven titles; his fifth in a row.^[45]

Variants[link]

• American snooker, a variant dating to 1925, usually played on a 10 by 5 foot table with 2 ¹⁄₈ inch balls, and a simpler rule set influenced by pool (it should be pointed out that despite its name, American snooker is not recognised by the United States Snooker Association).
• Power Snooker, a variant with only nine reds, in a diamond-shaped pack, instead of 15 in a triangle, and matches limited to 30 minutes.
• Sinuca brasileira, a Brazilian version with only one red ball, and divergent rules
• Six-red snooker, a variant played with only six reds in a triangular pack.
• Snooker plus, a variant with additional balls
• Ten-red snooker, a variant played with only ten reds in a triangle.
• Volunteer snooker, a variant from the early 1900s.

See also[link]

Snooker portal

• Snooker season 2011/2012
• Snooker world rankings 2011/2012
• Snooker world ranking points 2011/2012

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Snooker (category)

Look up snooker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikinews has news related to: Snooker

• World Snooker Association
• International Billiards & Snooker Federation
• European Billiards & Snooker Association
• Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports
• Scottish Snooker NGB for Snooker & Billiards in Scotland

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Ronnie O'Sullivan

O'Sullivan at the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic.
Born	(1975-12-05) 5 December 1975 (age 36) Wordsley, West Midlands
Sport country	England
Nickname	The Rocket[1] The Essex Exocet[2]
Professional	1992–
Highest ranking	1
Current ranking	9
Career winnings	UK£6,989,447
Highest break	147 (11 times)
Century breaks	678 (as of 4 May 2012)[3]
Tournament wins
Ranking	24
Minor-ranking	2
Non-ranking	23
World Champion	2001, 2004, 2008, 2012
www.ronnieosullivan.tv

Ronald Antonio "Ronnie" O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975^[4]) is an English professional snooker player known for his rapid playing style, and is nicknamed "The Rocket".^[5] He has been World Champion on four occasions (2001, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and, with career earnings of over £6 million is second after Stephen Hendry on snooker's all-time prize-money list.^[6] O'Sullivan has been the world's no. 1 player on five occasions, and has won a total of 24 ranking titles. He is second, again behind Hendry, on the list of players making the most competitive century breaks, with a total of 678.^[3] O'Sullivan has compiled 11 maximum breaks in professional competition, a record which he shares with Hendry.^[7] He also holds the record for the fastest maximum break, at 5 minutes 20 seconds.^[8]

O'Sullivan is considered by many fans, critics and professionals, including fellow multiple-World Championship winners Hendry and Steve Davis, as the most naturally talented player in the history of the game.^[9] He has, however, been involved in a number of controversial incidents during his career.^[9]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

O'Sullivan was born in Wordsley, West Midlands,^[4] and grew up, and still lives, in the exclusive Manor Road area in Chigwell, Essex.^[10] He attended Wanstead High School.^[11] 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^[12][8] – on his way to the 1993 World Championship, where he is the third youngest player to have qualified. He lost in the first round 7–10 to Alan McManus,^[13] and in the following season was ranked 57.^[14] He became the youngest winner of a ranking tournament when, aged 17, he won the 1993 UK Championship,^[8] beating Stephen Hendry in the final.^[15] In 1995, he won his first Masters title, by defeating John Higgins 9–3.^[16]

In the 1996 World Championship, snooker's governing body found O'Sullivan guilty of assaulting Mike Ganley, a media official.^[17] He was given a two-year suspended sentence and a £20,000 fine, and advised to donate £10,000 to charity.^[4] 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.^[8] In November 1997, he won his second UK title, beating Hendry 10–6 in the final.^[15]

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.^[18] O'Sullivan made it to the semi–finals of the 1999 World Championship, but lost 13–17 to Stephen Hendry. During the match, they made four successive centuries: two from Hendry and two from O'Sullivan.^[19] Following his solid performance during the previous year, O'Sullivan had a promising campaign in the 1999/2000 season, and won two ranking tournaments. He won the 1999 China Open by defeating Stephen Lee 9–2,^[20] and the 2000 Scottish Open by defeating Mark Williams 9–1.^[21] At the World Championship, O'Sullivan was eliminated in the first round by David Gray, losing the match 9–10.^[22] In that match, O'Sullivan became the first snooker player to compile five centuries in a best of 19 frames match.^[23]

During the 2000/2001 season, he won six tournaments, and reached the final of one further event. He won the Champions Cup by defeating Mark Williams 7–5,^[24] and reached the final of the Grand Prix, but lost 5–9 against Williams.^[25] O'Sullivan defended his China Open title, by defeating Williams 9–3 in the final.^[26] In 2001, he won the Irish Masters, by defeating Stephen Hendry 9–8, and claimed his first World Championship title, with an 18–14 victory over Higgins.^[27][28] O'Sullivan dedicated this win to his father.^[29] O'Sullivan ended the season by winning the Premier League. After finishing second in the league stage, he defeated John Higgins 6–3 in the semi-finals, and Stephen Hendry 9–7 in the final.^[30]

After the first world title[link]

In the 2001/2002 season, O'Sullivan won his third UK title, with a 10–1 victory over Doherty.^[15] 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'."^{[31] [32]}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.^[33] 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.^[34] O'Sullivan ended the season by defending his Premier League title. Having finished first after the league stage,^[35] O'Sullivan defeated Jimmy White 6–2 in the semi-final, and John Higgins 9–4 in the final.^[36] O'Sullivan began the 2002/2003 season ranked number 1.^[14]

Another successful season followed in 2002/2003, with O'Sullivan reaching the last 16 in seven ranking tournaments. He began the season by winning the invitational Scottish Masters, defeating John Higgins 9–4 in the final.^[37] He reached the quarter-finals of the LG Cup, losing against eventual champion Chris Small,^[38] the last 16 of the British Open, losing against Paul Hunter,^[39] the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, losing against Drew Henry.^[40] and the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, losing to Marco Fu.^[41] After this, O'Sullivan won back-to-back ranking titles, by defeating Hendry in the European Open, and Higgins in the Irish Masters.^[42][43] He then reached the last 16 of the Scottish Open, losing against Ken Doherty.^[44] O'Sullivan's only first round loss at a ranking event in the season came at the World Championship, when he lost 6–10 in the first round against the unseeded Marco Fu,^[45] despite making a maximum break in the match.^[46] This defeat saw him drop to number 3 in the rankings.^[14] O'Sullivan participated at the Premier League, but despite topping the table after the league stage, he lost 4–6 in the semi-final against Marco Fu.^[47]

In the 2003/2004 season, O'Sullivan reached the three ranking-event finals. He reached the final of the British Open, losing 6–9 against Stephen Hendry,^[48] and won the Welsh Open, defeating Steve Davis 9–8.^[49] O'Sullivan also reached the final of the Masters, but lost 9–10 against Paul Hunter, despite having led 6–1 and then 9–7, before losing the final three frames to lose the match.^[50][51] In 2004, O'Sullivan's father telephoned 1970s six-time World Champion Ray Reardon, and asked if he could give O'Sullivan some advice.^[52] 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 had 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.^[53] He also beat Hendry 17–4 in the semi–final – the most one-sided defeat ever in a World Championship semi–final.^[54] O'Sullivan was ranked number one for the next two seasons.^[14]

2004/2005[link]

O'Sullivan began the 2004/2005 season by winning the Grand Prix, defeating Ian McCulloch 9–5 in the final.^[55] He then reached the semi-finals of the British Open, losing 1–6 to Stephen Maguire, and the last 32 of the UK Championship, losing 6–9, once again against Maguire.^[56][57] In 2005, O'Sullivan defended his Welsh Open title, by defeating Stephen Hendry 9–8.^[58] During the tournament, O'Sullivan compiled ten century breaks, including a break of 146, the highest of the tournament.^[59][60] After this, he won his second Masters title, by defeating John Higgins 10–3.^[61]After the final, Higgins described O'Sullivan as a "total genius".^[62][63]

O'Sullivan then won his third Irish Masters title,^[64] by defeating Matthew Stevens 10–8.^[65] He then missed the China Open on medical grounds; for which he was criticised by Anthony Hamilton, who said that O'Sullivan has a duty to promote the sport overseas.^[66] 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.^[67] After the match, O'Sullivan indicated to the press that he was unlikely to compete in the following season, and would perhaps even retire from the sport altogether.^[68] O'Sullivan participated in the Premier League. After finishing third in the table after the league stage, O'Sullivan defeated Hendry 5–0 in the semi-finals, and Williams 6–0 in the final.^[69] In September 2005, he announced that he would play a truncated 2005/2006 season, spending some time playing eight-ball pool in the United States, having been chosen to compete on the elite International Pool Tour.^[70][71]

2005/2006[link]

O'Sullivan began the 2005/2006 season at the Grand Prix, and reached the final, but lost 2–9 against John Higgins.^[72] In his last 32 match with Mark King at the UK Championship, O'Sullivan sat with a wet towel draped over his head for most of the contest,^[73] and lost 8–9.^[74] He then successfully defended his Premier League title. Having finished first in the league stage, he defeated Steve Davis 5–3 in the semi-finals, and Stephen Hendry 6–0 in the final.^[75]

O'Sullivan reached the final of the Masters, but lost 9–10 again to Higgins.^[76] O'Sullivan skipped the Malta Cup^[77], and then lost his opening matches at the next two ranking events, as he lost 1–5 against Ian McCulloch at the Welsh Open and 0–5 against James Wattana at the China Open.^[78][79]

The 2006 World Championship began with O'Sullivan defeating Dave Harold 10–4, followed by a struggle through to 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.^[80] The incident drew criticism from his opponent,^[81] and from Steve Davis and John Parrott.^[82] Dott then took all eight frames of the third session, leaving himself 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.^[83] BBC claims he had used as many as 21 different tips during the fortnight;^[80] O'Sullivan later stated that 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.^[83] O'Sullivan's decision not to enter the Malta Cup cost him the number-one rank for the following season.^[84]

2006/2007[link]

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 only 53 minutes – a record for a best of 11 frame match.^[85] O'Sullivan than reached the quarter-finals of the Grand Prix, but lost 1–5 against eventual champion Neil Robertson.^[86] 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".^[87] It was later officially confirmed that O'Sullivan had forfeited the match, which was awarded 9–1 to Hendry.^[88] 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".^[87] On 31 May 2007, World Snooker fined him a total of £20,800 over this incident, and docked him 900 ranking points.^[89][90]

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 6–1 on 16 January 2007, against Ali Carter, making two centuries in the process. However, he then created more controversy by failing to attend a post-match press conference.^[91] He did record a short interview with Steve Davis for the BBC, stating that he was much happier than he had been the UK Championship, and that he was playing well once again. Sir Rodney Walker later issued a statement declaring that O'Sullivan had been excused from dealing with the media because of the exceptional circumstances affecting him.^[92] This decision was criticised by Shaun Murphy^[93] and Ken Doherty.^[94] 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.^[95]

O'Sullivan went out of the Malta Cup with a 3–5 loss to Michael Holt in the first round.^[96] He reached the quarter-finals of the Welsh Open, but lost 4–5 against Neil Robertson in the quarter-finals.^[97] In his quarter-final match against Joe Swail at the Irish Masters, O'Sullivan knocked in a maximum break on his way to a narrow 5–4 victory, and then won in the final 9–1 against Barry Hawkins.^[98][99] O'Sullivan then reached the semi-finals of the China Open, but lost 2–6 against eventual champion Graeme Dott.^[100]

Just before the World Championship, in which he was to play a first-round match with Ding Junhui again, O'Sullivan claimed that the draw was fixed. This was subsequently denied by World Snooker,^[101] and O'Sullivan later retracted his accusation.^[102] 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[link]

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.^[103] He also chose not to enter the invitational Pot Black tournament.^[104] He made the final of the Grand Prix, but lost 6–9 against Marco Fu.^[105] 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.^[106] O'Sullivan went out of the tournament in the next round, having lost against Fergal O'Brien.^[107] On 2 December 2007, he won a fourth consecutive, and record seventh total, Premier League Snooker title, by beating John Higgins in the final by a score of 7–4.^[108][109] 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.^[110] In doing so, he 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.^[111]

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 1–4 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.^[112] After withdrawing from the invitational Malta Cup, O'Sullivan returned at the Welsh Open in February. Playing a good tournament, he reached the final. Although he led 8–5, Selby won the last four frames to beat him 9–8.^[113] 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.^[114] In June 2008, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association punished him for his behaviour by docking the appearance-money and world-ranking points that he had earned from the event.^[115]

At the 2008 World Championships, O'Sullivan compiled a record-breaking ninth competitive maximum break against Mark Williams.^[116] 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 those of 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".^[117] Soon after potting the final black, snooker legend and commentator Dennis Taylor labelled O'Sullivan as a "total genius".^[118] However, O'Sullivan's 147 was equalled by Ali Carter in the same tournament, thus halving the prize-money.^[119] 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.^[120] At the end of the season, O'Sullivan, along with Williams and Maguire, left management company 110sport to join the Romford-based Grove Leisure.^[121]

2008/2009[link]

O'Sullivan began the 2008/2009 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.^[122] He then reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, having defeated Stephen Maguire in the semi–finals with two the top breaks of 141 and 145.^[123] However, in the final, he was defeated by qualifier Ricky Walden, 10–8. O'Sullivan was leading, but Walden pulled back four frames in a row to win the match.^[124]

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 "It might have looked like I lost my head or whatever, but I'm sure I'll bounce back."^[125] For this he was later fined £300, and was ordered to pay £1000 in costs.^{[126][127][128]}

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.^[129] 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 round match, against Stuart Bingham. In the second frame, he compiled a 140 break. In a later frame, he also achieved a break of 104, and in the 14th frame he made a clearance of 103. He was defeated in the second round 11–13, by Mark Allen, after having led 9–7.^[130]

2009/2010[link]

He began the season by winning the Shanghai Masters, defeating Liang Wenbo 10–5 in the final. On the way to reaching 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.^[131] After his Shanghai Masters victory, he joined the newly founded Snooker Players Association.^[132] In the second ranking event, the Grand Prix, he beat Jamie Burnett 5–3 in the first round, but then lost narrowly against John Higgins in the second round, by 4–5.^[133] On 29 November 2009, O'Sullivan did not retain his Premier League Snooker title, with Shaun Murphy defeating him 7–3 in the final.^[134] 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.^[135] 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 having come back from 2–8 to 8–8.^[136]

O'Sullivan began the defense of his Masters title by defeating Australian Neil Robertson 6–4 in the first round, after having trailed 0–3.^[137] After this, he defeated Peter Ebdon 6–3 in the quarter-final.^[138] In the semi-final, he beat Mark Williams 6–5, to reach his 6th Masters final in 7 years.^[139][140] O'Sullivan met Mark Selby in the final for the second consecutive year,^[141] and lost 9–10 despite having led 9–6.^[142] 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.^[143]

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 made a mistake on the final black, and the ball finished over the pocket. He immediately conceded frame and match.^[144] With this, he also lost his chance to defend his official World No. 1 spot.^[145] At the World Championship, he defeated Liang Wenbo 10–7 in the first round^[146] and Mark Williams 13–10 in the second round,^[147] before losing 11–13 to Mark Selby in the quarter-finals match.^[148]

2010/2011[link]

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.^[149] O'Sullivan next competed at Event 4, where reached the final, but he lost 3–4 against Barry Pinches.^[150] 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. However, he had to be persuaded by referee Jan Verhaas to play the final black, as he had become aware that there was no distinct prize money for a maximum break in the tournament, but only a prize of £4,000 for the highest break. Even then, he played the final black in a nonchalant fashion.^[151] 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.^[152] O'Sullivan participated at the Premier League Snooker, and qualified for the finals unbeaten.^[153] He then defeated Neil Robertson 5–1 in the semi-finals, and Shaun Murphy 7–1 in the final,^[154] to claim his ninth Premier League Snooker title in 14 years.^[109] In the UK Championship in December, O'Sullivan suffered an early exit, losing 6–9 against Stuart Bingham in the first round.^[155]

At the Masters in January, O'Sullivan went out 4–6 in the first round against Mark Allen.^[156] 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.^[157] He then lost in the first round of the next two ranking tournaments, both times against Ryan Day. He lost 2–4 at the Welsh Open,^[158] and 2–5 at the China Open.^[159] He 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.^[160]

2011/2012[link]

O'Sullivan with the German Masters trophy (2012)

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.^[161] At the Paul Hunter Classic, he made the 11th official maximum break of his career, and set a new record of career maximum breaks.^[162] He then reached the semi-finals, but lost 3–4 against Mark Selby.^[163] His next tournament was the Shanghai Masters, where he reached the second round, but lost 3–5 against Anthony Hamilton.^[164] In October 2011 he won the Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy, by defeating Matthew Stevens 4–2 in the final.^[165] In November 2011 he reached the final of the Antwerp Open, but lost 3–4 against Judd Trump.^[166] After 12 of 12 events, O'Sullivan was ranked number two on the Order of Merit,^[167] and qualified for the Finals,^[168] but withdrew due to medical reasons.^[169]

O'Sullivan won the 10th Premier League title of his career.^[170] After topping the table in the league stage, he defeated Mark Williams to reach the final, where he defeated Ding Junhui 7–1.^[171] His next tournament was the UK Championship, where he lost in the second round 5–6 against eventual champion Judd Trump.^[172] At the Masters, he again lost against Trump, this time 2–6 in the quarter-finals.^[173] At the German Masters, he reached his first ranking final since the 2010 World Open,^[174] and won 9–7 against Stephen Maguire, despite having trailed 0–4 against Andrew Higginson in the first round.^[175] He then reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Open, and the quarter-finals of the China Open, but lost 2–6 against Mark Selby and 4–5 against Maguire respectively.^[176][177]

At the World Championship O'Sullivan saw off former world champions in each of his first three matches. He beat Peter Ebdon 10–4 in the first round, Mark Williams 13–6 in the second, and Neil Robertson 13–10 in the quarter-finals.^[178] He beat two-time runner-up Matthew Stevens 17–10 in the semi-finals, and defeated Ali Carter 18–11 in the final, to win his fourth world title. Aged 36, and just 40 days older than Dennis Taylor was when when he won the title in 1985, O'Sullivan became the oldest world champion since 45-year-old Ray Reardon in 1978.^[179][180] In the eighth frame of the final, O'Sullivan made a break of 141, the highest break ever recorded in a Crucible final.^[181][182] On 10 May 2012, O'Sullivan was named as the World Snooker Player of the Year and the Snooker Writers Player of the Year. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with Walter Donaldson, Mark Williams and John Higgins.^[183]

Playing style[link]

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.^[184] He is a good front-runner, although tends to become demoralised when behind and not playing well. In such circumstance, he is liable to lose multiple consecutive frames.^[185] He 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.^[186]

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.^[187] He 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.^[188]

Status[link]

He is considered by many to be the most naturally talented player in the history of the sport,^[189] with some labelling him a 'genius'.^[190][191] Several of his peers regard him as the greatest player ever,^{[52][192][193][194]} although a temperamental streak sometimes leads to a lack of confidence or interest,^[4] and he has performed inconsistently throughout his controversial career thus far,^[195] with observers noting the 'two Ronnies' aspect of his character.^[196][197] 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".^[198]

O'Sullivan is one of the most popular players on the circuit^[199] and is noted for being a 'showman'.^[200] He is perhaps the biggest draw in the game today,^[201] and has helped improve the image of snooker to the general public.^[190][202] O'Sullivan himself has stated his desire for entertaining the watching public, and has said that slow, gritty games put viewers off.^[203] He has often been compared to Alex Higgins and Jimmy White, because of both his natural talent and popularity.^[186] O'Sullivan has compiled 678 competitive centuries during his career, second only to Hendry.^[3]

Personal life[link]

He has been labelled a perfectionist,^[204] and highly self-critical,^[205] even in victory.^[120][206] He suffers from clinical depression, and has had drug-related problems,^[207] but currently works with a sports psychologist.^[208]

O'Sullivan's mother is from Sicily.^[209][210] His girlfriend is Jo Langley, whom he met at Narcotics Anonymous,^[211] and with whom he has two children.^[212] He was reported to have split with Jo in early June 2008.^[213] He has another daughter from a previous relationship.^[214][215]

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.^{[216][217][218][219]} O'Sullivan also espouses an interest in Buddhism,^[220] having spent many lunchtimes at the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green. However, he denies having a firm commitment to any religion.^[221]

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.^[222] 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 weekend of 15–16 August 2009, in the Volkswagen Racing Cup at Silverstone using a Volkswagen Jetta with the car number "147", he drove two 20-minute rounds.^[223] In the first round, he spun off into a gravel trap, but fared better in the second, in which he finished 14th.^[224]

Performance and rankings timeline[link]