Source: RKG Snooker via Twitter
The Chigwell-born superstar has been playing some scintillating snooker ahead of the 2018 Masters where he will bid to defend his title and triumph in the event for an unprecedented ninth time. Davis told the BBC that “Ronnie is becoming the ultimate player”, before later adding: “He doesn’t appear to suffer from pressure or tension in his game.” Ronnie has had his fair share of setbacks throughout his career and he is still prone to regular outbursts but his mind and ability to read the table are as sharp as they have ever been. Davis heaped further praise on the Rocket, complimenting his temperament and suggesting that he is “still the most feared player” on the tour.No player above the age of 50 has ever won a title on the tour and whilst O’Sullivan still has a long way to go until he reaches that milestone, Davis has few doubts that he will be the first to break that record. Ray Reardon currently holds the record for being the oldest world champion when clinching the title in 1978 aged 45, beating a record which had previously stood since 1946. ‘Dracula’ reached the final of the competition once again in 1985 but was beaten 16-5 by Davis.
The Masters is one of the premium events on the snooker calendar and with the event staged in his own backyard, the Rocket clearly relishes playing here. The record seven-time winner of the competition will once again be part of the talented 16-player field in 2018 and anyone who fancies him to retain his title once again can use one of a number of sign-up offers as detailed by Oddschecker to back him to come out on top once again at Alexandra Palace. He is set to start as the 5/2 favourite with the one-table set-up generally considered to play into his desire to be the centre of attention and he is clearly buoyed by the fact that the majority of the crowd will be willing him on throughout the tournament.
Other appealing aspects of the tournament include the fact that it contains only the top-ranked players, almost ensuring high-quality games throughout, and the brevity of the six-day event means players aren’t left exhausted by the format. O’Sullivan is unlikely to be fazed by the out-of-form Judd Trump or world number one Mark Selby, who made a surprisingly early exit from the World Championships at the end of last year.
Source: Bozena Kucharaska via Twitter
The Rocket came to prominence in the early 1990s and quickly became the youngest ever winner of a major snooker tournament beating Stephen Hendry 10-6 in the final of the UK Open helping to immediately make a name for himself. He reached the second round of the World Championships that year but was eliminated by John Parrott. As a result of his breakthrough success, he was named as the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association’s young player of the year.The fact that he is still winning tournaments at a canter and is at the top of his game 24 years later is truly remarkable and this kind of longevity seldom occurs at the top level of sport. The aforementioned Hendry was hugely successful at the table but all of his glory came between 1990 and 2000. He did continue to compete until 2012 but he was unable to recreate those earlier triumphs.
Ronnie has been fairly consistent throughout his career, although he did take some time off during the 2012/13 season which caused him to drop out of the top 16. He described the players’ contract as “onerous” which came just weeks after he had accused Barry Hearn of “blackmailing” the players. His self-imposed sabbatical came to end in February 2013, when he announced his attention to return to the game and defend his World Championship title.
He’s had his fair share of controversy over the years and isn’t afraid to speak out against his fellow professionals. At the start of 2018, he branded all players on the tour as “clueless”, although he was quick to spare experienced duo John Higgins and Mark Selby any criticism. He’s also called his fellow professionals “numpties” and has accused the authorities of bullying and manipulating its players on a number of occasions. in 2017, he faced possible disqualification from the China Open for wearing blue trainers, which he claimed were on “medical grounds”.
O’Sullivan’s style has been compared to Jimmy White and Alex Higgins, with his ambitious shot selection heralded as amongst the game’s greatest and his continued unpredictability is just one of the main reasons why the crowd relish watching the Rocket in action. He is technically one of the most astute operators on the tour and he is almost impossible to stop once he gets in front, as many players have found to their detriment. Davis also described him as “one of the greatest sporting personalities this country has ever produced”. Despite this unprecedented success, the 42-year-old has never been nominated for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year, although he has previously gone on record as saying he is pleased with the continued snub as he “would never want to go”.
He has won 17 major titles in total, including six UK Championships, which is a joint record that he holds with Steve Davis. He’s a five-time world champion and has also found success at the both the Welsh and Scottish Open. Before being discontinued, he’d also been successful on two different occasions at the Irish Masters. The Premier League was held between 1987 and 2012 with Ronnie O’Sullivan coming out on top on ten different occasions although Stuart Bingham was the final player to triumph during the year of O’Sullivan’s absence.
Source: Yahoo Sports via Twitter
Whilst many snooker players fade with age as their eyesight begins to falter and their ability to think quickly diminishes, Ronnie O’Sullivan appears to be getting stronger with every passing tournament. He had a storming end to 2017 winning the English Open, the Shanghai Masters and looking absolutely unstoppable against Shaun Murphy in the final of the UK Championship. He is in the form of his life and the other players are struggling to stay on terms with him.One of his most recent outbursts has seen him brand snooker as “boring” before dropping hints about his retirement during a Q&A on social media site Twitter. Whilst his legions of fans will be devastated about the prospect of him stepping down, he was quick to clarify that he is more likely to take some time out in the near future in order to keep himself fresh. This plan may include skipping the 2018 World Championships and potentially missing the opportunity to wrap up the title for a sixth time.
If O’Sullivan decides to take time out from snooker once again, fans can be safe in the knowledge that he struggles to stay away for long and is likely to come back even stronger and more focused than ever before. His presence certainly makes the sport far more interesting and a more enjoyable experience for the fans. His recent performances hint that he has many more years of competing at the top level to come but he may decide to cherry-pick his commitments going forward. The 42-year-old is set to enter the 2018 Masters in mesmerising form and he remains the player to beat on the tour. The Rocket has plenty of life left in him yet and is unlikely to take a significant step back anytime soon.
