The Rocket Ronnie O’Sullivan:
Fact File
‘The Rocket’ Ronnie O’Sullivan, is one of the best players alive in world snooker and is declared as the most naturally talented snooker player of all time by the critics. The player is known for
his extraordinary snooker techniques and rapid playing style, however, this living legend is also famous for his controversies on and off the table.
There are 1090 people in the UK with the surname, O’Sullivan, which is basically an Irish surname, and none of them is as controversial and famous as Ronnie O’Sullivan. His complete name is Ronald
Antonio O’Sullivan and in the snooker world he is commonly known as ‘The Rocket’ for his aggressive game-play.
The Rocket turned professional in 1992 at the age of just 16 and won his first ranking title in 1993 at the UK Championship, beating Stephen Hendry of Scotland 10-6 in the final. With that win, he
became the youngest ever player to win a ranking event, at the age of 17. Here are some interesting facts about the ‘genius’ of the snooker.
On-Table Facts
Ambidexterity
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the only ambidextrous player in the world of snooker. Basically he is a right-hander but has compiled a century break with his left hand too. When he showed his left-hand potting
ability at the 1996 World Championship in his first-round match against Alain Robidoux of Canada, Robidoux issued an official complaint and accused him of being disrespectful. Ronnie responded by saying that he was better left-handed than Robidoux was with
his right hand.
Although Ronnie clinched the match, he had to face a disciplinary hearing on the charge of bringing the game to a dispute and was ordered to prove his left-hand playing ability to the court. As a
result, he played three frames with his left hand against Rex Williams and won them all to drop the charge.
Century Breaks
Ronnie O’Sullivan is the second highest century-break holder with 621 breaks after the seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, who has fired 752 century breaks. Both superstars also share the record
of most 147 breaks, with 10 breaks each.
The 35-year-old O’Sullivan also holds the record of the youngest player to fire a century break as he scored his first century break of 117 at the age of ten at East End London in 1985. At the age
of 12, he fired a century clearance of 142 followed by a maximum break of 147 at the age of 15, a year before turning professional.
Another unique feature from the Rocket, Ronnie O’Sullivan, came in 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy when he fired five century breaks, 108, 122, 107, 147 and 129, in all five frames he won against Ali
Carter in the second round.
Rapid Game-Play
The three-time world champion, Ronnie, is famous for his rapid and furious style of game. He was nicknamed ‘The Rocket’ by MC Alan Hughes in 1992-93 after he clinched the fastest ever victory in the
history of snooker. O’Sullivan won the match in just 43 minutes after Tony Drago, who won the best-of-nine frames match in 34 minutes. O’Sullivan also holds the record of the fastest 147 century ever which he fired in five minutes and 20 seconds in his match
against Nick Price in 1997 World Snooker Championship.
Off-Table Facts
Book Author
Ronnie O’Sullivan has written an autobiography titled “Ronnie: The Autobiography of Ronnie O’Sullivan” in 2004 which contains details about his personal and professional life. The book was declared
‘best seller’ in the Sunday Times.
Popularity
Despite his controversial nature and his poor performance in the current season, he is the most popular snooker player in the world. He boasts the highest number of fans on Facebook;71,354 with the
fan growth of 244 per week, which is more than any other snooker player in the world.
In the player popularity contest in 2009, Ronnie stood at number four in the list of top players on Facebook after Roger Federer (Tennis) with 1,380,537 fans, Lewis Hamilton (Formula One) with 377,143
fans and Tiger Woods (Golf) with 353,665 fans.
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