Memorable O’Sullivan moments as snooker great turns 50

Ronnie O’Sullivan is undoubtedly the best snooker player there is.

The Englishman turned 50 on Friday, breaking almost every record in the sport since becoming a professional in 1992. He is regarded as the sport’s greatest-ever player.

The Rocket has won eight Masters titles, eight victories, and seven world titles overall, making it the record for the most Triple Crown victories in the UK Championship.

He has also compiled more century breaks and maximum 147s than anyone else.

Additionally, he holds a record number of ranking positions, five more than Stephen Hendry’s previous total of 36.

O’Sullivan won the UK Championship title just over 32 years ago, making him the youngest competitor to win a ranking contest.

In the 1993 final, O’Sullivan defeated Stephen Hendry 10-6, Alan McManus, Nigel Gilbert, Ken Doherty, Steve Davis, and Darren Morgan.

O’Sullivan has made 17 maximum breaks in his glittering career, but his first professional break is unquestionably his most memorable and quickest ever recorded.

His name became a thing when he recorded a 147 against a stunned Mick Price in the first round of the 1997 World Championship.

How about stopping play after eight points to inquire about a maximum break prize?

O’Sullivan defeated Mark King at the 2010 World Open, and that’s exactly what he did.

O’Sullivan won the 2013 World Championship admirably despite only playing one competitive game the entire season after taking a sabbatical from snooker.

Amazingly, he won the tournament without losing one session, and Mark Selby became the fourth player to do so after beating Barry Hawkins 18-12 in the final to claim his title at the Crucible.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is the first to surpass 1,300 century breaks, surpassing Judd Trump, John Higgins, and Neil Robertson, who all have attained that milestone.

In 2020, O’Sullivan set a new record for the fastest match in Crucible history by taking just 108 minutes to finish the 10-1 first-round demolition job on Thepchaiya Un-Nooh.

O’Sullivan, who has since made his first appearance at the top of the world rankings since 2019, arrived at the Crucible in Sheffield in 2022.

And it was unique. With his Tour Championship victories over Neil Robertson, he reclaimed the top spot in the world in March 2019 after a nine-year hiatus.

It only seemed a matter of time before O’Sullivan reached his seventh Crucible title, which he won in 2020 after earning his sixth.

And after making an appearance in his 30th game against David Gilbert in the famous Sheffield venue in his 2022 first-round appearance, he won 18-13 against Judd Trump to set Hendry’s modern-era record for titles.

With a record-extending eighth title in York, O’Sullivan defeated Ding Junhui to become the oldest UK champion.

The Englishman won the UK Championship just two days before his 48th birthday, just three years after becoming the youngest player to do so at the age of 17 years old.

Imagine winning the best-of-11 match not once but twice. In their earlier this year’s Saudi Arabia Masters semi-final, O’Sullivan defeated Chris Wakelin 6-3 to win the same thing.