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Ruhr Metropolitan Region Metropolregion Ruhr
map of the Ruhr metropolitan region within Germany
Country	Germany
State	North Rhine-Westphalia
Largest Cities	Dortmund Essen Duisburg Bochum
Government
• Body	Regionalverband Ruhr
Area
• Metro	4,435 km2 (1,712 sq mi)
Highest elevation	441 m (1,447 ft)
Lowest elevation	13 m (43 ft)
Population
• Metro	5,172,745
• Metro density	1,646/km2 (4,260/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
GRP	2007
Nominal	€ 136.3 billion[1]
Website	www.metropoleruhr.de

The Ruhr (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquial Ruhrpott, Kohlenpott, Pott or Revier), is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.^[2] With a population density of 7100/km² and a population of some 7.3 million,^[3] it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany. It consists of several large, formerly industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to the north. In the Southwest it borders to the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region of more than 12 million people.

Since the Ruhr is polycentric, coordinates shown are general in nature and so can be used to focus on the entire region of the Ruhr: 51°30′N 7°30′E / 51.5°N 7.5°E / 51.5; 7.5.

From west to east, the region includes the cities of Duisburg, Oberhausen, Bottrop, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne, Hagen, Dortmund, and Hamm, as well as parts of the more "rural" districts Wesel, Recklinghausen, Unna and Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreis. Historically, the western Ruhr towns, such as Duisburg and Essen, belonged to the historic region of the Rhineland, whereas the eastern part of the Ruhr, including Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Dortmund and Hamm, were part of the region of Westphalia. Since the 19th century, these districts have grown together into a large complex with a vast industrial landscape, inhabited by some 7.3 million people (when including Düsseldorf and Wuppertal). It is the fifth largest urban area in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow, London and Paris.

For 2010, the Ruhr region was one of the European Capitals of Culture.

Geography[link]

Map of the Ruhr

The urban landscape of the Ruhr extends from the Lower Rhine Basin east on to the Westphalian Plain and south on to the hills of the Rhenish Massif. Through the centre of the Ruhr runs a segment of the loess belt that extends across Germany from west to east. Historically, this loess belt has underlain some of Germany's richest agricultural regions.

Geologically, the region is defined by the occurrence of coal-bearing layers from the upper Carboniferous period, more or less independent of their depth. The coal seams reach the surface in a strip along the River Ruhr and dip downward from the river to the north. Beneath the River Lippe, the coal seams lie at a depth of 600 to 800 metres (2,000 to 2,600 feet). The thickness of the coal layers ranges from one to three metres (three to ten feet). This geological feature played a decisive role in the development of coal mining in the Ruhr.

According to the Regionalverband Ruhr (RVR, Ruhr Regional Association), 37.6% of the region’s area is built up. A total of 40.7% of the region’s land remains in agricultural use. Forests account for 17.6% of the region’s area. Bodies of water and other types of land use occupy the rest of the Ruhr's land. The inclusion of four mainly rural districts in the otherwise mainly industrial Ruhr helps to explain the large proportion of agricultural and forested land. In addition, the city boroughs of the Ruhr region have outlying districts with a rural character.

Seen on a map, the Ruhr could be considered a single city, since—at least in the north-south dimension—there are no visible breaks between the individual city boroughs. For this reason, the Ruhr is described as a polycentric urban area. The area is characterized by a similar history of urban and economic development.

Because of its history, the Ruhr is structured differently from monocentric urban regions such as Berlin and London, which developed through the rapid merger of smaller towns and villages with a growing central city. Instead, the individual city boroughs and urban districts of the Ruhr grew independently of one another during the Industrial Revolution. While large European cities typically have population densities of up to 20,000 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 50,000 per square mile), the population density of the central Ruhr—with only about 2,100 inhabitants per square kilometre (about 5,400 per square mile)—is thin compared to other German cities.

The transitions from one Ruhr city to another consist of relatively open suburbs and even open or agricultural fields. In some places, the borders between cities in the central Ruhr are unrecognizable due to continuous development across them.

Replanting of brownfield land has created new parks and recreation areas. The Emscher Landschaftspark (Emscher Landscape Park) lies along the River Emscher, formerly virtually an open sewer, parts of which have undergone natural restoration. This park connects strips of parkland running from north to south, which were developed through the regional planning in the 1920s, to form a green belt between the Ruhr cities from east to west.

History[link]

Middle Ages[link]

During the Middle Ages, much of the region that later was called Ruhrgebiet was situated in the Mark, the Duchies of Cleves and Berg and the territories of the bishop of Münster and the archbishop of Cologne. The region knew some medieval villages and castles but was mainly agrarian, its loess soil made it one of the richer parts of western Germany. The free imperial city of Dortmund was the trading and cultural centre, due to the Hellweg, an important east-west trading route, that brought prosperity to the town of Duisburg as well. Both towns were members of the Hanseatic League.

Industrial Revolution[link]

Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex in Essen, an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001.

Zeche Zollern in Dortmund

The development of the region into an urbanized industrial area started in the late 18th century with the fortgoing early industrialisation in the nearby Wupper Valley in the Bergisches Land. Here around 1820 hundreds of water-powered mills were producing textile, lumber, shingles and iron in automated processes. And in even more workshops in the hills, highly skilled workers manufactured knives, tools, weapons and harnesses, using water, coal and charcoal. History has no official name for this phase of the industrial revolution, but one could call it the early waterpowered industrial revolution.

As the machines became bigger and transitioned from water- to steampower, local mined coal and charcoal became expensive and delivered insufficient burning power. The Bergische industry ordered more and more coal from the new coal mining area along Ruhr river.^[4] Impressive and expensive railways were constructed through the hilly Wupper region, to bring coal, and later steel, in from the Ruhr, and to carry products out to the world.^[5]

By 1850, there were almost 300 coal mines in operation in the Ruhr area, in and around the center cities Duisburg, Essen, Bochum and Dortmund. The coal was exported or processed in coking ovens into coke, needed to fuel blast furnaces, producing iron and steel. In this period the name Ruhrgebiet became common. Before the coal deposits along the Ruhr were used up, the mining industry moved northward to the Emscher and finally to the Lippe, drilling ever deeper mines as it went. Locks built at Mülheim on the Ruhr led to the expansion of Mülheim as a port. With the establishment of the Cologne-Minden railway in the late 19th century, several iron works were built within the borders of the present-day city of Oberhausen.

Migration[link]

The population climbed rapidly. Cities that in the early 19th century counted 2,000–5,000 inhabitants, grew in the following 100 years to over 100,000. Employers recruited skilled mine workers from other regions to the Ruhr's mines and steel mills and unskilled people started to move in. From 1860 onwards masses of new workers migrated from Silesia, Pomerania, East Prussia and Posen to the Ruhr. A majority of them were Polish-speakers and they were treated as second class citizens. In 1899 this led to a revolt in Herne of young Polish workers, who later established a Workers Union of their own. Skilled workers in the mines were often housed in so-called "miners’ colonies", constructed by the mining firms. At the end of the Prussian Kingdom over 3 million people lived in the Ruhrgebiet and the new coal-mining district had become the largest industrial region of Europe.^[6]

World War I[link]

During the first World War the Ruhrgebiet functioned as Germany's central weapon-factory. At a big Essen company the amount of employees in four years rose from 40,000 to 120,000. They were partly women, partly forced labourers.

Interbellum[link]

French and Belgian occupation[link]

In March 1921, French and Belgian troops occupied Duisburg, which according to the Treaty of Versailles formed part of the demilitarized Rhineland. In January 1923 the whole Ruhrgebiet was occupied as a reprisal after Germany failed to fulfill World War I reparation payments as agreed in the Versailles Treaty. The German government answered with "passive resistance", letting workers and civil servants refuse orders and instructions by the occupation forces.

Hyperinflation[link]

Production and transportation came to a standstill and the financial consequences contributed to German hyperinflation and ruined public finances in Germany. Passive resistance was called off in late 1923 allowing Germany to undertake a currency reform and to negotiate the Dawes Plan, which led to the withdrawal of French and Belgian troops from the Ruhr in 1925.

World War II[link]

During World War II, the "Ruhr 1940–1945" bombing caused a loss of 30% of plant and equipment (compared to 15–20% for the entire German industry).^[7] A second battle of the Ruhr (6/7 October 1944–end of 1944) is claimed to have begun with an attack on Dortmund.^{[8][verification needed]} In addition to the strategic bombing of the Ruhr, in April 1945, the Allies trapped several hundred thousand Wehrmacht troops in the Ruhr Pocket.

Post-World War II[link]

view of the redeveloped Duisburg Inner Harbour in 2010

Demilitarization[link]

The Level of Industry plans for Germany abolished all German munitions factories and civilian industries that could support them and severely restricted civilian industries of military potential. The French Monnet Plan pushed for an internationalization of the area,^[9] and the subsequent Ruhr Agreement was imposed as a condition for permitting for establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany.^[10]

During the Cold War, the Western allies anticipated that any Red Army thrust into Western Europe would begin in the Fulda Gap and have the Ruhr as a primary target. Increased German control of the area was limited by the pooling of German coal and steel into a multinational community in 1951. The nearby Saar region, containing much of Germany's remaining coal deposits, was handed over to economic administration by France as a protectorate in 1947 and did not politically return to Germany until January 1957, with economic reintegration occurring two years later. Parallel to the question of political control of the Ruhr, the Allies conducted an effort to decrease German industrial potential by limitations on production and dismantling of factories and steel plants, predominantly in the Ruhr. By 1950, after the virtual completion of the by-then much watered-down "level of industry" plans, equipment had been removed from 706 manufacturing plants in the west, and steel production capacity had been reduced by 6.7 million tons.^[11] Dismantling finally ended in 1951. In all, less than 5% of the industrial base was dismantled.^[12]

Economic miracle[link]

The Ruhr was at the center of the German economic miracle of the 1950s and 1960s, as very rapid economic growth at 9% a year created a heavy demand for coal and steel.

Decline after 1970[link]

After 1973, Germany was hard hit by a worldwide economic crisis, soaring oil prices, and persistently high unemployment, which jumped from 300,000 in 1973 to 1.1 million in 1975. The Ruhr region was hardest hit, as the easy-to-reach coal mines petered out, and German coal was no longer competitive. Likewise the Ruhr steel industry went into sharp decline, as its prices were undercut by lower-cost suppliers such as Japan. The welfare system provided a safety net for the large number of unemployed workers, and many factories reduce their labor force and began to concentrate on high-profit specialty items.^[13][14]

As demand for coal decreased after 1958, the area went through phases of structural crisis (see steel crisis) and industrial diversification, first developing traditional heavy industry, then moving into service industries and high technology. The air and water pollution of the area are largely a thing of the past although some issues take a long time to solve.^[15][16] In 2005, Essen^[17] was the official candidate for nomination as European Capital of Culture for 2010.

Demographics[link]

Largest cities[link]

The ten largest cities of the Ruhr:

Pos.	Name	Pop. 2010	Area (km²)	Pop. per km²	map
1	Dortmund	580,688	280.37	2,071
2	Essen	575,027	210.38	2,733
3	Duisburg	501,564	232.81	2,154
4	Bochum	385,626	145.43	2,652
5	Gelsenkirchen	268,102	104.86	2,557
6	Oberhausen	218,898	77.04	2,841
7	Hagen	196,934	160.36	1,228
8	Hamm	184,239	226.24	814
9	Herne	170,992	51.41	3,326
10	Mülheim an der Ruhr	169,917	91.29	1,861

Language[link]

The local dialect of German is commonly called Ruhrdeutsch or Ruhrpottdeutsch, although there is really no uniform dialect that justifies designation as a single dialect. It is rather a working class sociolect with influences from the various dialects found in the area and changing even with the professions of the workers. A major common influence stems from the coal mining tradition of the area. For example, quite a few locals prefer to call the Ruhr either "Kohlenpott", where "Pott" is a derivate of "Pütt" (pitmen's term for mine; cp. the English "pit"), or "Revier".

Migration[link]

Gastarbeiter, working at the Walsum mine (Duisburg)

During the 19th century the Ruhr attracted up to 500,000 ethnic Poles, Masurians and Silesians from East Prussia and Silesia in a migration known as Ostflucht. By 1925, the Ruhrgebiet had around 3.8 million inhabitants. Most of the new inhabitants migrated from Eastern Europe, however, immigrants also came from France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. It has been claimed that immigrants came to the Ruhr from over 140 different nations. Almost all of their descendants today speak German only and due to various reasons they do not identify with their Polish roots and traditions, often only their Polish family names remaining as a sign of their past.

In 1900, the main concentrations of the Polish minority were:

• District of Gelsenkirchen (Westfalia) 13.1 %
• District of Bochum (Westfalia) 9.1 %
• District of Dortmund (Westfalia) 7.3 %
• City of Gelsenkirchen (Westfalia) 5.1 %

Official minority status and rights for Poles (Polish-speaking emigrants and their descendants) in Germany in general and in Ruhr specifically were revoked by Hermann Göring's World War II decree of 27 February 1940, and their property was confiscated. After World War II, even more immigrants originated from beyond German eastern and southern borders, first the former Polish, Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war and slave-laborers of Nazi Germany who stayed in Ruhr, and then the guest workers from the south and other emigrants (Silesians, Masurians and Kashubians) from beyond the Iron Curtain. These guest workers or Gastarbeiter came mostly from Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey and since the fall of communism most other Eastern European countries as well. Official minority status for Poles in Germany has never been restored nor Nazi-confiscated property returned, in spite of numerous promises and declarations by various German governments and European Community reports. Polish government signed a treaty with Germany called Treaty of Good Neighbourship on June 17, 1991 where official Polish minority status in Germany was not recognized whereas the German minority in Poland status was and has been since fully protected.

Culture[link]

This section requires expansion.

The city of Essen (representing the Ruhr) was selected as European Capital of Culture for 2010 by the Council of the European Union.

The Industrial Heritage Trail[link]

The Industrial Heritage Trail (German: Route der Industriekultur) links tourist attractions related to the European Route of Industrial Heritage in the Ruhr area.

Economy[link]

This section requires expansion.

headquarters of ThyssenKrupp AG in Essen

Largest companies[link]

(A–Z)

• Aldi
• Evonik Industries
• Franz Haniel & Cie.
• Hochtief
• Klöckner & Co.
• RWE
• Tengelmann
• ThyssenKrupp

Transport[link]

Road transport[link]

A 40 in Essen at night

Meiderich station of Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr

The Ruhr has one of the densest motorway networks in all of Europe, with dozens of Autobahns and Autobahn like Schnellstraßen (expressways) crossing the region. The Autobahn network is built in a grid network, with 4 east-west (A2, A40, A42, A44) and 7 north-south (A1, A3, A43, A45, A52, A57, A59) routes. A1, A2 and A3 are mostly used by through traffic, while other autobahns have a more regional function. Both A44 and A52 have several missing links, in various stages of planning. Some missing links are currently not considered to be constructed.

Additional expressways serve as bypasses and local routes, especially around Dortmund and Bochum. Due to the density of the autobahns and expressways, Bundesstraßes are less important for intercity traffic. The first Autobahns in the Ruhr opened during the mid-1930s. Due to the density of the network, and the number of alternate routes, traffic volumes are generally lower than other major metropolitan areas in Europe. Traffic congestion is an everyday occurrence, but far less compared to Randstad, another polycentric urban area. Most important Autobahns possess six lanes, but there are no eight-lane Autobahns in the Ruhr.

Public transport[link]

All public transport companies in the Ruhr are run under the umbrella of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, which provides a uniform ticket system valid for the entire area. The Ruhr region is well-integrated into the Deutsche Bahn, both in passenger and cargo rail.

Air transport[link]

Düsseldorf International Airport serves as the interncontinental airport for North Rhine-Westphalia and is within 20 km for most of the Western Ruhr area. Dortmund Airport in the Eastern Ruhr is a mid-sized airport, offering scheduled flights to domestic and European destinations.

See also[link]

NRW portal

• Rhine-Ruhr
• Metropolitan regions in Germany
• Occupation of the Ruhr (1923–1924)
• Ruhrpolen
• Silesian metropolitan area
• Upper Silesian Coal Basin

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Botting, Douglas (1985). From the Ruins of the Reich: Germany 1945–1949. New York: Crown Publishing. ISBN 0-517-55865-3. 
• Bishop, Patrick. Bomber Boys Fighting Back 1940–1945
• French Directorate for Economic Affairs, Memorandum on the separation of the German industrial regions, 8 September 1945.
• Gareau, Frederick H. "Morgenthau's Plan for Industrial Disarmament in Germany", Western Political Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 2 (Jun., 1961), pp. 517–53 in JSTOR
• Yoder, Amos. "The Ruhr Authority and the German Problem", Review of Politics, Vol. 17, No. 3 (Jul., 1955), pp. 345–358 in JSTOR

Further reading[link]

• Kift, Roy, Tour the Ruhr: The English language guide (3rd ed., 2008) (ISBN 3-88474-815-7) Klartext Verlag, Essen [1]
• Berndt, Christian. Corporate Germany Between Globalization and Regional Place Dependence: Business Restructuring in the Ruhr Area (2001)
• Crew, David. Town in the Ruhr: A Social History of Bochum, 1860–1914 (1979) (ISBN 0231043007)
• Fischer, Conan. The Ruhr Crisis, 1923–1924 (2003)
• Gillingham, John. "Ruhr Coal Miners and Hitler's War", Journal of Social History Vol. 15, No. 4 (Summer, 1982), pp. 637–653 in JSTOR* Chauncy D. Harris, "The Ruhr Coal-mining District", Geographical Review, 36 (1946), 194–221.
• Gillingham, John. Industry and Politics in the Third Reich: Ruhr Coal, Hitler, and Europe (1985) (ISBN 0231062605)
• Pounds, Norman J. G. The Ruhr: A Study in Historical and Economic Geography (1952) online
• Pierenkemper, Toni. "Entrepreneurs in Heavy Industry: Upper Silesia and the Westphalian Ruhr Region, 1852 to 1913", Business History Review Vol. 53, No. 1 (Spring, 1979), pp. 65–78 in JSTOR
• Royal Jae Schmidt. Versailles and the Ruhr: Seedbed of World War II (1968)
• Spencer, Elaine Glovka. "Employer Response to Unionism: Ruhr Coal Industrialists before 1914" Journal of Modern History Vol. 48, No. 3 (Sep., 1976), pp. 397–412 in JSTOR
• Spencer, Elaine Glovka. Management and Labor in Imperial Germany: Ruhr Industrialists as Employers, 1896–1914. Rutgers University Press. (1984) online
• Todd, Edmund N. "Industry, State, and Electrical Technology in the Ruhr Circa 1900", Osiris 2nd Series, Vol. 5, (1989), pp. 242–259 in JSTOR

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ruhrgebiet

Look up Ruhrgebiet in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikinews has related news: Themenportal_Ruhrgebiet

• Ruhr Tourism
• Post-Surrender Program for Germany (Sept. 1944)
• Ruhr Delegation of the United States of America, Council of Foreign Ministers American Embassy Moscow, March 24, 1947
• Draft, The President's Economic Mission to Germany and Austria, Report 3, March, 1947; OF 950B: Economic Mission as to Food…; Truman Papers.
• France, Germany and the Struggle for the War-making Natural Resources of the Rhineland Describes the contest for the Ruhr and Saar over the centuries.
• Ruhrgebietsbilder: Photos about the Ruhr

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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]

Career finals[link]

Ranking event finals: 35 (24 titles, 11 runner-ups)[link]

Legend World Championship (4–0) UK Championship (4–0) Other (16–11) Outcome No. Year Championship Opponent in the final Score Ref. Winner 1. 1993 UK Championship Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 10–06 !10–6 [225] Runner-up 1. 1993 European Open Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 05–09 !5–9 [226] Winner 2. 1994 British Open Wattana, JamesJames Wattana 09–04 !9–4 [227] Runner-up 2. 1995 Thailand Open Wattana, JamesJames Wattana 06–09 !6–9 [228] Runner-up 3. 1995 British Open Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 06–09 !6–9 [227] Winner 3. 1996 Asian Classic Morgan, BrianBrian Morgan 09–08 !9–8 [229] Winner 4. 1996 German Masters !German Open Robidoux, AlainAlain Robidoux 09–07 !9–7 [226] Winner 5. 1997 UK Championship (2) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 10–06 !10–6 [225] Winner 6. 1998 Scottish Open Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 09–05 !9–5 [230] Winner 7. 1999 China Open Lee, StephenStephen Lee 09–02 !9–2 [231] Winner 8. 2000 Scottish Open (2) Williams, MarkMark Williams 09–01 !9–1 [230] Runner-up 4. 2000 Grand Prix Williams, MarkMark Williams 05–09 !5–9 [232] Winner 9. 2000 China Open (2) Williams, MarkMark Williams 09–03 !9–3 [231] Winner 10. 2001 World Snooker Championship Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 18–14 [233] Winner 11. 2001 UK Championship (3) Doherty, KenKen Doherty 10–01 !10–1 [225] Winner 12. 2003 European Open Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 09–06 !9–6 [226] Winner 13. 2003 Irish Masters Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 10–09 !10–9 [234] Runner-up 5. 2003 British Open (2) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 06–09 !6–9 [227] Winner 14. 2004 Welsh Open Davis, SteveSteve Davis 09–08 !9–8 [235] Winner 15. 2004 World Snooker Championship (2) Graeme Dott 18–08 !18–8 [233] Winner 16. 2004 Grand Prix McCulloch, IanIan McCulloch 09–05 !9–5 [232] Winner 17. 2005 Welsh Open (2) Hendry, StephenStephen Hendry 09–08 !9–8 [235] Winner 18. 2005 Irish Masters (2) Stevens, MatthewMatthew Stevens 10–08 !10–8 [234] Runner-up 6. 2005 Grand Prix (2) Higgins, JohnJohn Higgins 02–09 !2–9 [232] Runner-up 7. 2006 Northern Ireland Trophy Ding Junhui 06–09 !6–9 [236] Runner-up 8. 2007 Grand Prix (3) Fu, MarcoMarco Fu 06–09 !6–9 [232] Winner 19. 2007 UK Championship (4) Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire 10–02 !10–2 [225] Runner-up 9. 2008 Welsh Open Selby, MarkMark Selby 08–09 !8–9 [235] Winner 20. 2008 World Snooker Championship (3) Carter, AliAli Carter 18–08 !18–8 [233] Winner 21. 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy Harold, DaveDave Harold 09–03 !9–3 [236] Runner-up 10. 2008 Shanghai Masters Walden, RickyRicky Walden 08–10 !8–10 [231] Winner 22. 2009 Shanghai Masters Liang Wenbo 10–05 !10–5 [231] Runner-up 11. 2010 Grand Prix (4) !World Open (4) Robertson, NeilNeil Robertson 01–05 !1–5 [237] Winner 23. 2012 German Masters (2) Maguire, StephenStephen Maguire 09–07 !9–7 [175] Winner 24. 2012 World Snooker Championship (4) Carter, AliAli Carter 18–11 [238]