6 Facts About Ronnie O’Sullivan to Know
We all have our heroes, and even if you aren’t particularly fond of Ronnie O’Sullivan, the man has become a legend not just in snooker circles but far beyond those. The reason is simple – O’Sullivan is one of the most talented players of all times. He carries his snooker prowess lightly and has never had a showy or bragging quality to his ability to play.
It’s thanks to O’Sullivan that snooker became a popular pastime for many and even a sport to aspire to. The game is streamed on Twitch, just like other competitive games are today, including live poker, for example! Well, Twitch is a true entertainment bank these days, with games such as online slots also readily available in the mix. And so far as slots go, book-of-dead.co.uk is one of perhaps the best references to get yourself started if you are particularly keen on slot gameplay. And it is games from this site you can often see during the streaming.
But enough about slots, and back to Ronnie – the man, the legend, the godfather of snooker as we know it today.
#1 First and Only Player to Have 1000 Century Breaks
Did you know? Ronnie is the only snooker player who plays the game professionally at least to have 1000 century breaks – he’s is the first and only that is. But what’s a century break, our less snooker-savvy readers may ask? Well, it’s going to the table and scoring 100 points in a single go. It’s not bad, right? He is currently looking at 1,171, ahead of John Higgins with 898.
#2 Ronnie Had a Tough Childhood
Ronnie has not had it easy as a kid. His father was sent to 18 years in prison for killing a man, and his mother was named in a tax evasion case. As such, he had to rely on himself and channeled his love for snooker into shaping himself as one of the most dedicated and impressive players of our time.
#3 The Rocket Is Owing to His Fast Plays
The Rocket has often been a nickname that many people have aspired to, but it’s Ronnie who carries that crown. The nickname was gained after he managed to complete a best-of-nine matchup in which he won in just 43 minutes. People couldn’t believe the fast pulls Ronnie pulled, and so they called him “The Rocket.”
#4 Ronnie Is Cultivating Talent in Asia
Ronnie understands that his exceptional ability to play snooker more or less depends on whether they will be enough crowd turning up to watch. To ensure that the sport lives on, he needs to also make sure that there is enough talent to go around. That is why Ronnie has chosen to train a global talent pool base of people who can play snooker. Yes, this much is true.
He has opened a new training academy in Singapore, and he hopes that people from the region will be interested in honing their skills and pursuing snooker as a more permanent career choice and contributing to the sport. His ambition is laudable and understandable as he is currently the apex snooker predator.
#5 Ronnie Is Ambidextrous
You never know which way Ronnie will strike as the man himself is ambidextrous. You know how snooker players pass the stick from one hand to the other as they nervously count time and poise themselves to go to the table? Ronnie does it to try and gain an advantage. Perhaps this ability to strike with both hands is what makes him such a precise shot. An analysis of his striking shows that he has roughly the same accuracy with both hands, although he has been known to favor the right hand, whether out of a force of habit or a personal preference.
#6 Ronnie Opened up to the Media and Helped the Game
One of snooker’s problems before the Ronnie era was that people who participated in the sport just would not talk to the media or try to popularize it. This has changed, though, thanks to Ronnie, who decided that the only way forward would be to make sure that he truly and fully appreciates the game and shares his love for it with others. He has been competing since 10-year-old, too, and that’s truly something.