Ronnie O'Sullivan facts for kids

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Ronnie O'Sullivan
OBE
Tournament wins
O'Sullivan at the 2015 German Masters
Born	(1975-12-05) 5 December 1975 (age 49) Wordsley, West Midlands, England
Sport country	England
Professional	1992–present
Highest ranking	1 (May 2002 – May 2003, May 2004 – May 2006, May 2008 – May 2010, March – August 2019, April 2022 – May 2024)
Current ranking	2 (as of 8 May 2018)
Ranking	41
Minor-ranking	3
World Champion	2001 2004 2008 2012 2013 2020 2022

Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan OBE (born 5 December 1975) is an English professional snooker player. Many people think he is one of the greatest snooker players ever. He has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, which is a record in the modern era, shared with Stephen Hendry.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has also won a record eight Masters titles. He holds a record eight UK Championship titles too. This gives him a total of 23 Triple Crown titles, more than any other player. He has won the most ranking titles, with 41. He has also been ranked as the world's number one player many times.

Ronnie started playing snooker at a young age. He won amateur titles like the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship. He became a professional player in 1992 when he was 16. He won his first big tournament, the 1993 UK Championship, when he was almost 18. This made him the youngest player to win a ranking title, a record he still holds. He is also the youngest player to win the Masters, which he did in 1995.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has played snooker for a very long time. He is the oldest player to win all three Triple Crown events. He won his seventh world title in 2022. He won his eighth UK Championship title in 2023. And he won his eighth Masters title in 2024. By 2024, he had played in the final stages of the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible 32 times. This broke the old record set by Steve Davis.

Ronnie made his first competitive century break when he was 10. He made his first competitive maximum break at 15. He was the first player to make 1,000 century breaks in professional games in 2019. Now, he has made over 1,200 centuries. He has made 15 officially recognised maximum breaks. He also holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest maximum break. He made it in 5 minutes and 8 seconds at the 1997 World Championship.

Outside of snooker, he works as a pundit for Eurosport's snooker shows. He has also written books. He received an OBE award in 2016.

Ronnie O'Sullivan's Snooker Journey
- Turning Professional and Early Success
- World Championship Wins and Records
How Ronnie Plays Snooker
What People Think of Ronnie
Ronnie's Thoughts on Snooker
Other Things Ronnie Does
Ronnie's Personal Life
Images for kids
See also

Ronnie O'Sullivan's Snooker Journey

O'Sullivan with the 2012 German Masters trophy

Ronnie O'Sullivan started playing snooker when he was 7 years old. He quickly became a very good amateur player. He won his first club tournament at age 9. He made his first century break at age 10. He also won the British Under-16 Championship at age 13. In 1991, he made his first competitive maximum break. He was the youngest player to do so in a big tournament at the time. In the same year, he won the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship and Junior Pot Black.

Turning Professional and Early Success

Ronnie became a professional player in 1992 when he was 16. He won 74 of his first 76 qualifying matches. This included a record of 38 wins in a row. He played in the televised stages of the 1993 World Championship. He lost to Alan McManus in his first game at the Crucible. Later that year, he won his first ranking title. He beat Stephen Hendry 10–6 in the final of the 1993 UK Championship. He was just under 18 years old, making him the youngest ever winner of a ranking event. The next season, he won the 1995 Masters. He was still the youngest Masters champion.

World Championship Wins and Records

Between 1996 and 1999, Ronnie reached three World Championship semi-finals. At the 1997 World Championship, he made his first maximum break as a professional. This break took 5 minutes and 8 seconds. It is still the fastest competitive maximum break in snooker history. This amazing achievement is even listed in the Guinness World Records. He won his second UK title later that year at the 1997 UK Championship.

He reached his first World Championship final in 2001. He beat John Higgins 18–14 to win his first World title. This helped him become the world number one for the first time in the 2002–03 season. With the help of six-time World Champion Ray Reardon as his coach, he won his second World title in 2004. He beat Graeme Dott 18–8 in the final. After this, he was the number one player for the next two seasons. He won his second Masters title in 2005, ten years after his first.

In 2007, Ronnie won his third Masters title. He also won his fourth UK Championship. This was his first ranking title in almost three years. He won his third World title in 2008. He beat Ali Carter 18–8 in the final. After this, he was the world number one for the next two seasons. He won his fourth Masters title in 2009.

After a couple of difficult seasons, he started working with sports psychologist Steve Peters in 2011. Ronnie then won his fourth World title in 2012. He beat Ali Carter 18–11 in the final. The next season, he took a break from playing professionally. Even though he had only played one competitive match all season, he came back to the Crucible for the 2013 World Championship. He successfully defended his World title, beating Barry Hawkins 18–12 in the final.

In his 2014 Masters quarter-final, he set a new record. He scored 556 points without his opponent replying. He then beat the defending champion Mark Selby 10–4 in the final to win his fifth Masters title. At the 2014 World Championship, he reached his third World final in a row. He played Mark Selby again. Even though he was leading 10–5, Ronnie lost 18–14. This was his first loss in a World final. Later in 2014, he won his fifth UK Championship. He beat Judd Trump 10–9 in the final.

O'Sullivan after winning his fifth World title in 2013

Ronnie won two Masters tournaments in a row in 2016 and 2017. This gave him a record seven Masters titles. He also won two UK Championships in a row in 2017 and 2018. This gave him a record seven UK titles. He now had 19 Triple Crown titles, more than Stephen Hendry's 18. During the 2017–18 season, he won five ranking events. He beat Neil Robertson 10–4 in the final of the 2019 Players Championship. In the last frame of that match, he made his 1,000th century break. He was the first player to reach this huge milestone. He won his 36th ranking title at the 2019 Tour Championship. This equalled Hendry's record. He also became the world number one again for the first time since May 2010.

At the 2020 World Championship, Ronnie came back from being 14–16 behind against Mark Selby in the semi-final to win 17–16. He then beat Kyren Wilson 18–8 in the final to win his sixth world title. This tournament was his 28th time playing at the Crucible in a row. This broke Hendry's record of 27. He reached his 58th ranking final at the 2021 Tour Championship, breaking Hendry's record of 57. He lost 10–4 to Neil Robertson. During that tournament, he made his 1,100th century break. He lost five ranking finals in a row in the 2020–21 season. But he ended a 16-month period without a title by winning his 38th ranking title at the 2021 World Grand Prix.

Ronnie beat Judd Trump 18–13 in the 2022 World Championship final. This was his seventh world title, equalling Stephen Hendry's record in the modern era. He was the oldest World Champion in snooker history. He also broke Hendry's record for Crucible wins, setting a new record of 74.

Ronnie beat Marco Fu 6–4 to win the 2022 Hong Kong Masters. The final was watched by about 9,000 people. This was the biggest audience ever for a snooker match. At the 2023 World Snooker Championship, Ronnie made his 31st appearance at the Crucible. This broke Steve Davis's record of 30. He made his 200th century break at the Crucible and his 1,200th century overall. He reached the quarter-final, becoming the first player to play 100 matches at the Crucible. He lost to Luca Brecel.

At the invitational 2023 Shanghai Masters, Ronnie beat Luca Brecel 11–9 in the final. This was his fourth win in a row and fifth overall at the Shanghai Masters. He extended his winning streak at the tournament to 18 matches. He won a record eighth title at both the 2023 UK Championship and the 2024 Masters. He beat Ding Junhui and Ali Carter 10–7 in those finals. This increased his record for ranking titles to 40 and Triple Crown titles to 23. He became the oldest winner of all three Triple Crown events. He also became both the youngest and oldest winner of the UK Championship and the Masters. He won his 41st ranking title at the 2024 World Grand Prix. He beat Judd Trump 10–7 in the final. He then won the invitational 2024 World Masters of Snooker, the first professional snooker tournament in Saudi Arabia. He beat Luca Brecel 5–2 in the final. He also signed a three-year deal to promote snooker in Saudi Arabia. At the 2024 Shanghai Masters, Ronnie lost to Judd Trump in the semi-finals. This was his first loss at that tournament since 2016.

Ronnie O'Sullivan has many other career highlights. These include three World Grand Prix titles, two Players Championship titles, four Welsh Open titles, two Scottish Open titles, two German Masters titles, four Irish Masters titles, two China Open titles, two Champions Cup titles, ten Premier League titles, four Champion of Champions titles, three Scottish Masters titles, and five Shanghai Masters titles.

How Ronnie Plays Snooker

O'Sullivan during the 2011 Paul Hunter Classic

Ronnie O'Sullivan is known for playing snooker very quickly and attacking the balls. He earned the nickname "The Rocket" because he won a match in a record 43 minutes early in his career. He is excellent at making high breaks and is also a good tactical player. He has said he doesn't like long, slow games. He believes they are not good for snooker.

He is right-handed but can also play very well with his left hand. He often switches hands when he needs to. This allows him to make shots with his left hand that would normally require a rest or spider. When he first showed this skill in the 1996 World Championship, his opponent thought it was disrespectful.

What People Think of Ronnie

Many snooker players think Ronnie O'Sullivan is the greatest player ever. Some even call him a "genius." After losing to Ronnie in 2008, Stephen Hendry said Ronnie was "the best player in the world by a country mile." In 2024, Hendry agreed that Ronnie is definitely the greatest snooker player of all time. He also called him an "artist." However, Ronnie himself doesn't agree that he is the greatest. He thinks Stephen Hendry is the greatest because of how much he dominated snooker.

Ronnie is one of the most popular players in snooker. He is known for being a "showman." Many people believe he has helped make snooker more popular with the public. He is often compared to Alex Higgins and Jimmy White because of his natural talent and popularity. In December 2020, Ronnie was nominated for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year Award. He was the first snooker player to be nominated since Hendry in 1990. He was nominated again in December 2022.

Other famous sportspeople have also praised Ronnie. Tennis player Novak Djokovic said, "I watch snooker because of Ronnie O'Sullivan."

Ronnie's Thoughts on Snooker

After Barry Hearn took over World Snooker in 2010, Ronnie O'Sullivan often spoke out about changes to the professional tour. He didn't like having to travel more. He also thought that top players had to play too many rounds against lower-ranked opponents. He also felt that prize money for maximum breaks was too low. He also thought some tournament venues were not good enough.

In 2021, Ronnie said in an interview that most snooker players had "wasted their lives." He called snooker a "bad sport" that can cause "a lot of damage." He suggested that practicing alone in a dark room can stop players from growing as people. He also said he would not support his own children if they wanted to be snooker players. He said if he could live his career again, he would choose golf or Formula One instead.

Other Things Ronnie Does

TV and Radio Work

Eurosport signed a special deal with Ronnie O'Sullivan in March 2014. He became their global ambassador for snooker. This was to help make snooker more popular around the world. As part of this deal, Ronnie made a snooker show for Eurosport called The Ronnie O'Sullivan Show. It included his thoughts on the game, interviews with other players, and tips for playing. He also wrote for Yahoo! websites and apps during the 2014 World Championship. He often appears as a pundit on Eurosport's snooker coverage with Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.

In 2015 and 2016, Ronnie co-hosted a show called Midweek Matchzone on Brentwood radio station Phoenix FM. In 2017, he starred in a short TV series called Ronnie O'Sullivan's American Hustle. In the show, he and his friend Matt Smith traveled around the United States learning how to play pool hustling.

Author

O'Sullivan at a 2014 book signing

Ronnie O'Sullivan has written three crime novels with author Emlyn Rees. These are Framed (2016), Double Kiss (2017), and The Break (2018). The novels are not about his life, but they are based on some of his early experiences. He has also written two autobiographies. His first, Ronnie: The Autobiography of Ronnie O'Sullivan, came out in 2003. His second, Running: The Autobiography, was published in 2013. He also wrote a health and fitness book with nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert. It is called Top of Your Game: Eating for Mind and Body and came out in 2019. It has healthy recipes and advice for living better and eating healthier.

Video Games

Ronnie O'Sullivan has been part of several video games. These include Virtual Snooker in 1996, World Snooker Championship 2007 in 2007, and Ronnie O'Sullivan's Snooker for PlayStation Portable in 2012.

Documentary Film

A documentary film about Ronnie O'Sullivan was made by David Beckham's company, Studio 99. It is called Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything. The film came out in London on November 21, 2023, and on Amazon Prime Video on November 23. It showed the challenges he faced as a top snooker player. It also showed how his personal life affected his career.

Snooker Course

In October 2023, Ronnie O'Sullivan started an online snooker course called The Rocket Method. In this course, he gives detailed lessons on how to play snooker for a fee. He is helped by Alan McManus. The course has 12 hour-long episodes. The last episodes were released in March 2024. The course is filmed very well and was directed by Oscar-nominated director Gregg Helvey. The episodes are available in English and Mandarin Chinese.

Ronnie's Personal Life

Ronnie's mother is from Sicily, Italy. He spent childhood holidays in the village where she grew up. He was raised in Chigwell, Essex, England. As of mid-2024, he lived in Chingford and Woodford Green. Later that year, he was reported to have moved to Hong Kong. He is a cousin of snooker player Maria Catalano, who was once ranked number one in women's snooker.

He became a grandfather in October 2018. He started dating actress Laila Rouass in 2012 and they got engaged in 2013. They announced their breakup in February 2022 but later got back together. In September 2024, they were reported to have broken up again.

Ronnie is known for wanting everything to be perfect. He is often hard on himself, even when he wins. Since 2011, his friend and sports psychologist Steve Peters has helped him with his moods. He is also good friends with artist Damien Hirst. Ronnie often talks about retiring from snooker. He took a long break from the professional tour in the 2012–13 season. During that time, he worked on a pig farm for several weeks. He enjoys running and has run 10 km races in 34 minutes and 54 seconds. He enjoys cooking and has appeared on the BBC's Saturday Kitchen. He also likes motor racing and has been on Top Gear. He supports Arsenal FC.

Ronnie has shown interest in Islam and Buddhism. He has said he does not have a strong commitment to any one religion.

Ronnie O'Sullivan was given an OBE award in 2016 for his contributions to snooker.

He has supported the Labour Party. But in June 2024, he supported an independent candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green in the 2024 General Election.

In June 2023, he was a guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. His chosen book was Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn. His luxury item was a painting set. His favourite song was "That's All" by Genesis.

On October 31, 2024, Ronnie O'Sullivan became a resident of Hong Kong under a special scheme.