Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in snooker history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a modern-era record he holds jointly with Stephen Hendry. He has also won a record eight Masters titles and a record eight UK Championship titles for a total of 23 Triple Crown titles, the most achieved by any player. He holds the record for the most ranking titles, with 41, and he has been ranked world number one on five occasions throughout his career.

After winning amateur titles including the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship, O'Sullivan turned professional in 1992, aged 16. He won his first ranking event at the 1993 UK Championship and remains the youngest player to win a ranking title. He is also the youngest player to win the Masters, having claimed his first title in 1995. Now also noted for his longevity in the sport, he is the oldest winner of all three Triple Crown events.

O'Sullivan made his first competitive century break at age 10 and his first competitive maximum break at age 15. He was the first player to achieve 1,000 century breaks in professional competition, which he has since extended to over 1,300 centuries. He has made the highest number of officially recognised maximum breaks in professional competition, with 17, and holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest competitive maximum break, compiled in a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds at the 1997 World Championship. At the 2026 World Open, he made the highest break in professional snooker history, a 16-red clearance of 153.

During his career, O'Sullivan has experienced depression, mood swings, and drug and alcohol abuse. Known as a controversial and outspoken figure on the professional tour, he has been disciplined on several occasions by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association for his behaviour and comments. Outside his playing career, he has worked as a pundit for televised snooker coverage and has written crime novels, autobiographies, and a health and fitness book. A member of the World Snooker Tour Hall of Fame, he was appointed an OBE in 2016. Along with Mark Williams and John Higgins, he is one of three players known as the "Class of '92", who all turned professional during the 1992‍–‍93 season.

O'Sullivan began playing snooker at age 7 and soon became a noted amateur competitor, winning his first club tournament at age 9, making his first competitive century break at age 10, and winning the British Under-16 Championship at age 13. At the 1991 English Amateur Championship, aged 15 years and 98 days, he made his first competitive maximum break, then the youngest player ever to do so in a recognised tournament. In the same year, he won the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship and Junior Pot Black.

After turning professional in 1992, aged 16, he won 74 of his first 76 qualifying matches, including a record 38 consecutive professional victories. He qualified for the televised stages of the 1993 World Championship, losing 10–7 to Alan McManus on his Crucible debut. He claimed his first ranking title later that year, beating Hendry 10–6 in the final of the 1993 UK Championship seven days before his 18th birthday to become the youngest-ever winner of a ranking event, a record he still holds. In the following season, he won the 1995 Masters aged 19 years and 69 days to become the youngest Masters champion.

Between 1996 and 1999, O'Sullivan reached three World semi-finals in four years. At the 1997 World Championship, he achieved his first maximum break in professional competition. Compiled in a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds, it remains the fastest competitive maximum break in snooker history, which is listed as a Guinness World Record. He won his second UK title later that year at the 1997 UK Championship. Despite these successes, his career also became marred by controversy in the late 1990s. During the 1996 World Championship, he assaulted an assistant press officer, for which he received a suspended two-year ban and a £20,000 fine. After winning the 1998 Irish Masters, he was stripped of his title and prize money when a post-match drug test found evidence of cannabis in his system. O'Sullivan subsequently acknowledged frequent abuse of drugs and alcohol in the early years of his career, which resulted in spells in the Priory Hospital for rehabilitation.

He reached his first World final in 2001, where he defeated John Higgins 18–14 to claim his first World title and reached number two in the world rankings. He won his third UK Championship later that year, which helped him attain the world number one ranking for the first time in the 2002–03 season. With veteran six-time World Champion Ray Reardon acting as his coach and mentor, he won his second World title in 2004, defeating Graeme Dott 18–8 in the final, after which he held the number one ranking for the next two seasons. He added his second Masters title in 2005, ten years after his first. His behaviour became notably erratic in the mid-2000s as he battled clinical depression. During the 2005 World Championship, he shaved his head mid-tournament and exhibited what The Independent called a "public emotional disintegration" while losing 11 of the last 14 frames in his quarter-final defeat against Peter Ebdon. At the 2005 UK Championship, he sat with a wet towel draped over his head during his match against Mark King. Trailing Hendry 4–1 in their best-of-17-frames quarter-final at the 2006 UK Championship, he abruptly conceded the match during the sixth frame and left the arena. Hendry was awarded the match 9–1 and O'Sullivan was fined £20,800 over the incident.

In 2007, O'Sullivan won his third Masters title and his fourth UK Championship, which was his first ranking title in almost three years. He won his third World title in 2008, defeating Ali Carter 18–8 in the final, after which he held the world number one ranking for the next two seasons. He added his fourth Masters title in 2009. After two poor seasons that saw him fall out of the top ten in the world rankings for the first time, he began working with psychiatrist Steve Peters in 2011. A resurgent O'Sullivan captured his fourth World title in 2012, defeating Carter 18–11 in the final, after which he paid tribute to Peters' work with him. In the following season, he took an extended break from the professional tour. Despite having played only one competitive match all season, he returned to the Crucible for the 2013 World Championship and successfully defended his World title, defeating Barry Hawkins 18–12 in the final. In his 2014 Masters quarter-final against Ricky Walden, he set a new record for the most points scored without reply in professional competition, with 556, and went on to beat the defending champion Mark Selby 10–4 in the final to claim his fifth Masters title. At the 2014 World Championship, he reached a third consecutive world final, where he again faced Selby. Despite taking a 10–5 lead, O'Sullivan lost 18–14, his first defeat in a world final. Later in 2014, he won his fifth UK Championship, beating Judd Trump 10–9 in the final. However, he declined to defend his title the following year and pulled out of the 2015 UK Championship, citing debilitating insomnia. At the 2015 Masters, he made his 776th century break in professional competition, surpassing Hendry's record for the most career centuries.

Known for his fast and attacking style of play, O'Sullivan gained the nickname "The Rocket" after winning a best-of-nine frame match in a record 43 minutes during his debut season as a professional. A prolific break builder and great tactical player, he has stated his disdain for long, drawn-out games, saying that they harm the game of snooker. O'Sullivan is ambidextrous, as he is right-handed but can play to a high standard with his left hand and routinely alternates when needed, enabling him to attempt shots with his left hand that would otherwise require a rest or spider. When he first displayed this left-handed ability in the 1996 World Championship against Alain Robidoux, the Canadian accused him of disrespect and refused to shake hands after the match.

O'Sullivan is highly regarded in snooker, with several of his peers regarding him as the greatest player ever, and some labelling him a "genius". After losing 17–6 to O'Sullivan in the 2008 World Championship semi-final, Hendry described him as "the best player in the world by a country mile". In 2024, Hendry agreed that there was no longer any question as to whether O'Sullivan was the greatest snooker player of all time, also calling him an "artist". However, O'Sullivan has dismissed the suggestion that he is the greatest player and has identified Hendry as the greatest due to his domination of snooker.

One of the most popular players on the circuit, he is noted for being a "showman", and is credited with helping improve the image of snooker with the general public. He has often been compared with Alex Higgins and Jimmy White for his natural talent and popularity. In December 2020, O'Sullivan was nominated for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Award, becoming the first snooker player to receive a nomination since Hendry in 1990. He was nominated for a second time in December 2022.

O'Sullivan sometimes lacks confidence or interest, and has performed inconsistently throughout his career, with observers noting the "two Ronnies" aspect of his character.

He has received praise from athletes in other sports. Tennis player Novak Djokovic called him "one of the sport greats".

Eurosport signed an exclusive deal with O'Sullivan in March 2014 to make him its global ambassador for snooker, with the goal of driving its international appeal. As part of this deal, O'Sullivan created a special snooker series for the network called The Ronnie O'Sullivan Show, which included his insights into the game, interviews with other professional players, and playing tips. He also wrote for Yahoo! websites and mobile apps during the 2014 World Championship. He frequently appears as a pundit on Eurosport's snooker coverage, alongside Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.

In 2015 and 2016, O'Sullivan co-hosted the Midweek Matchzone show with Chris Hood on Brentwood radio station Phoenix FM. In 2017, he starred in miniseries Ronnie O'Sullivan's American Hustle with broadcasting friend Matt Smith, in which the pair toured different cities in the United States learning the art of pool hustling.

O'Sullivan has written three crime novels in collaboration with author Emlyn Rees: Framed (2016), Double Kiss (2017), and The Break (2018). Although the novels are not autobiographical, they are loosely based on his early experiences and family life. He has also written two autobiographies. His first, Ronnie: The Autobiography of Ronnie O'Sullivan, was published in 2003; and his second, Running: The Autobiography, was published in 2013. He has also co-authored a health and fitness book with nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert entitled Top of Your Game: Eating for Mind and Body. Published in 2019, it contains healthy recipes and advice for "living better, eating healthier and feeding your brain to enhance your performance".

O'Sullivan has been involved with several video games, including Virtual Snooker (1996), World Snooker Championship 2007 (2007), and Ronnie O'Sullivan's Snooker for PlayStation Portable (2012).

A documentary film titled Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything was produced by David Beckham's production company Studio 99, directed by filmmaker Sam Blair, and distributed by MetFilms. The film premiered in London on 21 November 2023, and was released on Amazon Prime Video on 23 November. It highlighted the hardships he faced as a professional at the highest level of snooker, as well as how his personal life had impacted his career.

In October 2023, O'Sullivan launched an online snooker course entitled The Rocket Method, where he provides in-depth lessons on the game for a subscription fee. Assisted by Alan McManus, the course contains 12 episodes, each an hour in length, of which the final batch of episodes was released in March 2024. The course has a cinematic production and was directed by Oscar-nominated director Gregg Helvey, and episodes are available in English and Mandarin Chinese.

O'Sullivan was born on 5 December 1975 in Wordsley, West Midlands, the son of Ronald John and Maria (née Catalano) O'Sullivan, who ran a string of sex shops in the Soho area of London. His mother is originally from Sicily, and O'Sullivan spent childhood holidays in the village near Agrigento where she grew up. He was brought up in the Manor Road area of Chigwell, Essex, where he lived for some years and attended Wanstead High School. As of mid-2024, he lived in the adjoining area of Chingford and Woodford Green. He is a first cousin of snooker player Maria Catalano, who has been ranked number one in the women's game. In 1992 his father was sentenced to life in prison for murder and was released in 2010 after serving 18 years. His mother was sentenced to a year in prison for tax evasion in 1996, leaving O'Sullivan to care for his eight-year-old sister Danielle. In 1995 he was banned from driving for a year and fined £1,200, as he returned from the International Open, in Bournemouth, after defeat in the last 16.

O'Sullivan has three children: a daughter from a two-year relationship with Sally Magnus, as well as a son and a daughter from a relationship with Jo Langley, whom he met at Narcotics Anonymous. He became a grandfather in October 2018 after his daughter with Sally Magnus gave birth to a daughter. He began dating actress Laila Rouass in 2012, and became engaged to her in 2013. Rouass announced on social media in February 2022 that they had ended their ten-year relationship. The couple later reconciled, but in September 2024 were reported to have broken up again. They reconciled again in January 2025 and, in June of that year, they married at St George's Town Hall in Shadwell, East London.

On 20th March 2026 at the World Open, O’Sullivan achieved a break of 153, the highest ever in professional competition, potting 16 reds as a result of a free ball.

O'Sullivan has completed 17 maximum breaks in professional competition, from his first in the 1997 World Snooker Championship against Mick Price to his second of two 2025 Saudi Arabia Masters maximums against Chris Wakelin.

His first official maximum in 1997, completed in 5 minutes and 8 seconds, holds the record for the fastest maximum break achieved in competitive play. Initially, Guinness World Records recorded the time at 5 minutes and 20 seconds, but subsequent evidence has suggested that the BBC started the timer too early on the break. Depending on the timing methodology used, the break took between 5 minutes 8 seconds and 5 minutes 15 seconds; both World Snooker and Guinness World Records now officially acknowledge the shorter time.

O'Sullivan also holds the record for the total number of century breaks, compiling more than 1,300 in professional competition. At the 2022 Scottish Open, O'Sullivan scored a century in 3 minutes and 34 seconds—just 3 seconds slower than the fastest televised century break, made by Tony Drago in 1996. He scored his 1,300th century in the 2025 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters final against Neil Robertson, making him the first ever professional snooker player to do so.