The Brilliant yet controversial Ronnie O’Sullivan finds himself in trouble again
Ronnie O’Sullivan is one of the greatest naturally gifted snooker players playing the game at the moment. He is a former world champion and is known for having the most number of maximum breaks in the game today. O’Sullivan is also a little bit of a controversial
figure as he has done things in the past which put him in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. The latest controversy comes during a recent match when he had to be persuaded to pot the final ball in a maximum break that he was going to achieve. It seems
to be that brilliance and controversy both can be seen in equal measures in this talented snooker player.
The temperamental snooker star started playing the game early on in his life. He scored a century break achieving a score of 117 at the age of ten and continued to impress for the next few years. He made his first maximum break on a score of 147, at the
age of 15 and turned professional the next year. At the age of 16, O’Sullivan won his first 38 matches, which is still a record today and was the youngest player ever to qualify for the 1993 World Championship. Also in 1993, he won the UK Championship and
started his great rivalry with Stephen Hendry.
It was in 1996 that the other side of Ronnie first emerged. During the 1996 World Championship, he was found guilty of assaulting a match official and was given a two year suspension sentence and fined £20,000. In 1997 he won his second UK Championship and
also completed the fastest maximum break ever recorded.
O’Sullivan really came into his own in 2001 when he managed to win his first World Championship title by beating Higgins. He also won his third UK title. Going into the 2002-2003 season he was ranked number 1 in the world.
He had an up and down the next few years, winning tournaments and losing them as well. He dropped his number 1 ranking and then regained it again. He is currently ranked number 3 in the world. Due to his brilliance at the game, many fans of the sport have
said that O’Sullivan is one of the greatest naturally gifted players in the world. He is one of the most popular players on the snooker circuit today and is able to use his showmanship and naturally gifted playing style to entertain the crowd. A lot of people
have even said that he is the reason for the renewed interest in the sport of snooker and he has made the game a popular draw among fans again. In the game that has made him famous, O’Sullivan has completed over 600 century scores which is the second best
ever.
Despite his brilliance at the game, Ronnie is a very polarising figure. A lot of his peers and even some fans have said that there seem to be two sides to the player; one where he is brilliant and is able to beat everyone and on the other hand he sometimes
looks disinterested in the game and loses very easily. He suffers from clinical depression and also has had numerous drug related problems in the past. He was once disqualified from a tournament after he had won the final because of cannabis found in his blood
stream. He has had various alcohol and drug related problems over the years but it seems his madness cannot overshadow his genius.
The latest controversy that he was involved in was during a match 2 days ago against Mark King. Leading 3-0, O’Sullivan had asked the referee if there was a cash prize for completing a maximum break, and he was told that there was not, there was only a £4000
prize for the biggest break of the tournament. A maximum break is when a player is able to pot all 15 red balls with 15 blacks for 120 points then is able to pot all six colours for a further 27 points; totalling 147 points. Usually in tournaments maximum
breaks are awarded substantial cash prizes. After completing a maximum break with only the black ball left, O’Sullivan who had won, shook King’s hand and refused to pot the last ball. He had to be persuaded to do so by the referee because Ronnie felt that
if there was no big prize then what was the point. He eventually did pot the ball, to huge cheers from the crowd.
Even though he is a very controversial player on the current circuit, he is also one of the best at the moment. If he can keep up a consistent performance in the next few years he might even regain his world number 1 title.
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