Why snooker’s golden generation are still shining at 50

When a 14-year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan was asked by a TV reporter in 1990 what he thought of his snooker hero Steve Davis, he responded that “not many players can do that.”

It provided a first look at O’Sullivan’s strategy. His goal is to establish new standards in his sport, not just win.

He will celebrate his 50th birthday at this week’s UK Championship, where he holds the record for both the oldest and youngest winners, after 35 years.

For a sport to have just one player that old, at that age, would be remarkable enough, but O’Sullivan’s half-century will see the debut of three of the top six players in the world rankings.

Mark Williams and John Higgins, who both graduated from college in 1992, celebrated 50 years later.

However, this sport does not require such ultra-longevity. At the age of 36, Stephen Hendry won his final ranking event, joining O’Sullivan in holding the record for seven world titles, while Davis won the championship title at the age of 39 in 1997.

The difference between Davis’ generation and this one is psychological, according to Davis, 68.

Instead of trying to re-educate my brain, he said, “I was always blaming my technique for failing.” It appeared to be “just the circle of life.”

Ronnie, John, and Mark have shown otherwise. You have longer life than you think, it’s all in the mind.

O’Sullivan has worked with psychiatrist Professor Steve Peters, who has helped him develop his mentality since 2011. O’Sullivan asks him, “So what age can I go to, so I don’t have to question myself,” in his 2023 Amazon Prime documentary, The Edge of Everything.

Peters says, “If you keep looking at your age, you go back to these self-fulfilling prophecies.” You’re going to start saying, “Oh, I’m 46, I won’t do as well!” That’s not what I want. “Use age if you want to win and you want to keep producing the goods.”

Snooker may not be an athletic or explosive sport, but it still has a lot to do with physical characteristics, especially for younger players.

O’Sullivan exercise keeps himself in shape by running, but Williams is well-versed in other aging factors, including deteriorated vision, which Williams is well-versed in.

It makes me laugh, I think. For everything, Williams said to BBC Sport in September, “I need glasses for everything: reading, middle distance [spotting], long distance [spotting], everything.”

The Welshman has attempted lens replacement surgery three times, most recently in November, mainly because he keeps coming out.

What psychologists refer to as the neuroplasticity of the brain as benefiting Williams.

As long as an athlete doesn’t have eye conditions like cataracts, the brain can adapt to reduced vision, according to Zoe Wimshurst, who assists athletes in making the best use of their vision.

Everyone will soon notice that the eye’s lens is really stiff by the mid- to late-thirties or early-forties, she said.

However, our brains adapt to the challenges we place on them, and this continues throughout our lives, even to the very old age at the very end.

“But it might be that other parts of your body let you down, even if it is not your eyesight.”

Your body betrays your brain, Davis said, “somewhere down the line in a fine muscle control game like snooker.”

Your arm doesn’t perform the necessary actions. Yes, I hit the ball in a straight line, but I didn’t move the ball at the right pace.

There is no real way out of the delivery’s weight, which is what will happen. That will occur.

O’Sullivan has always stressed the importance of diet in his work with Peters, and he has frequently emphasized this fact.

The 1979 UK champion John Virgo said, “He doesn’t drink, he eats proper food. He still looks 30 years old, so you wouldn’t think he was 50.

Williams has also recently discovered he introduced a pre-match meal in 2024, which he claims keeps his energy through intense evening workouts.

The practice is what makes getting older the most difficult. You have to have a game-loving heart,Virgo added.

These difficulties are not exclusive to Williams, Higgins, and O’Sullivan. Higgins, a four-time world champion, stated in September that it is “schwer to get the cue out the case for practice.”

“But I just think, that’s just life,” Gibson continued. You age more quickly. Your priorities change.

Higgins has thought about resuming some of his tournaments, but he is constrained by the ranking system’s restrictions, which place the competition’s success in large events in turn depend on how well his performance in smaller ones compare.

He said, “It’s a challenging juggling act.” Going to these events will not help your mental health at all.

O’Sullivan has also cut back on his travels since moving to Dubai. He will play his first competitive game for this country this year at the UK Championship.

None of the trio appears to be yet to say goodbye. O’Sullivan, Higgins, and Williams are just like the big three tennis rivals of the past 20 years, where Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic were all pushed by one another to achieve greater success.

O’Sullivan noted that younger players “must get their acts together because I am going blind, have a dodgy arm, and bad knees and they still can’t beat me.”

Few players have emerged who have continued to dominate the calendar despite Zhao Xintong’s victory at this year’s World Championship. The results of this season, which saw 11 different men win the first 11 events, serve as an example.

But it’s not that simple when you’re chasing O’Sullivan, who, in his opinion, has more “natural ability” than any other current sportsman and who recalls making his first appearance on the 1992 popular gameshow Big Break.

O’Sullivan insists that winning tournaments is not the end all, at least in public.

However, he has previously made an adage that sustained motivation can be aided by prolonged periods of unproductiveness.

Although Davis, the young O’Sullivan’s hero, claims that his birthday may be a turning point, he has won almost two ranking years.

Who would say that turning 50 isn’t the catalyst Ronnie needs to use? Davis said, “Ok, I’m going to show everyone how good I am.”

Ronnie really enjoys making people’s jaws drop, even though we all know how good he is.