Ronnie O'Sullivan

[AlimOzturk]

Snooker often gets a bad press on here and it's popularity in the UK has fallen. However this man really is something special. He has that arrogance but the talent to back it up. He can play with both hands and could probably win tournaments with just his left. 

 

No1 in the world again level with Hendry on ranking titles. Will he overtake or equal Hendrys 7 world title records? 

 

How long can he keep going?

[luckyBatistuta]

Fantastic player who could go on and set records that might never be broken...but in their prime, I’d still take Stephen over him.

[Jamboelite]

The man is an utter bellend who despite his talent comes across as a sour faced miserable tosser.

 

Most of the time he tells everyone he hates playing.

 

I would add no doubt immensely talented....but still a prick.

Edited March 24, 2019 by Jamboelite

[Cruyff Turn]

I love Ronnie, he’s great. I watched him win a tournament the other week when he made his 1000th century in the winning frame, the table was shocking but none of the others had a chance because he could adapt, play different shots and had the cue power that no one else has.

 

He’s a genius on a snooker table and I think he’d have won 7 or 8 World titles already if his head and attitude had been where it is now.

 

For me, the best ever. Hendry will always be a great also but I don’t think he was even as good as O’Sullivan talent wise. In terms of a winning mentality, consistency and pure focus though, no one tops Hendry, his will to win was phenomenal. If Ronnie had what Hendry had in terms of mentality, he’d be Unstoppable.

 

I like snooker, always have but I only really watch it if O’Sullivans playing and that for me is the draw he has, he’s so gifted and entertaining to watch. The game is certainly not the same without him in it.

 

He could easily be at the top for another 5 years if he really wanted to but I don’t think he has the mentality to keep up there that long. Maybe he’ll do the business for another year then have a wee break and come back again in a couple of years. Can’t see him packing it in though until he’s getting papped out out of tournaments in the first round. 

Edited March 24, 2019 by Cruyff Turn

[I P Knightley]

1 hour ago, AlimOzturk said:

Snooker often gets a bad press on here and it's popularity in the UK has fallen. However this man really is something special. He has that arrogance but the talent to back it up. He can play with both hands and could probably win tournaments with just his left. 

 

No1 in the world again level with Hendry on ranking titles. Will he overtake or equal Hendrys 7 world title records? 

 

How long can he keep going?

See, I don't even think he's as arrogant has he has the right to be. He knows he's good and he recognises he's good but he doesn't flaunt it - at least not in the way I would if I were that good

 

 

1 hour ago, Jamboelite said:

The man is an utter bellend who despite his talent comes across as a sour faced miserable tosser.

 

Most of the time he tells everyone he hates playing.

 

I would add no doubt immensely talented....but still a prick.

He's had spells where he's been like that. Turning down the black for a certain 147 when he learned how 'little' he'd make for getting it was a definite low point. But his recent interviews have all been about playing the game because he enjoys it; it's not about setting or breaking records, it's about enjoyment.

 

I really don't know what more you might want from someone at the top of their game.

 

 

And it's not a sport.

[Samuel Camazzola]

6 hours ago, I P Knightley said:

See, I don't even think he's as arrogant has he has the right to be. He knows he's good and he recognises he's good but he doesn't flaunt it - at least not in the way I would if I were that good

 

 

He's had spells where he's been like that. Turning down the black for a certain 147 when he learned how 'little' he'd make for getting it was a definite low point. But his recent interviews have all been about playing the game because he enjoys it; it's not about setting or breaking records, it's about enjoyment.

 

I really don't know what more you might want from someone at the top of their game.

 

 

And it's not a sport.

That is partly correct. Although he expressed his disappointment at the reward on offer for such an achievement, he didn't want to prevent another player from getting the prize when the money would make a difference to them. 

[AlimOzturk]

John Higgins and Mark Williams are also 3rd and 4th in the ranking just behind Mark Selby. The old Guard appear to be going no where just like in Tennis. 

[Jambos_1874]

10 hours ago, Jamboelite said:

The man is an utter bellend who despite his talent comes across as a sour faced miserable tosser.

 

Most of the time he tells everyone he hates playing.

 

I would add no doubt immensely talented....but still a prick.

 

Summed up perfectly!!! 

 

As has been alluded to above, if he had the mentality of Hendry he would probably be comfortably be the best player of all time by a distance. But, it isn't just about raw talent, you need to have the correct mindset and ruthless winning mentality. I always felt that Hendry had that and although talented he had to work very hard to achieve what he did, whereas with O'Sullivan he just unbelievable talent, minus the mentality/attitude.

[Tazio]

10 hours ago, AlimOzturk said:

No1 in the world again level with Hendry on ranking titles. Will he overtake or equal Hendrys 7 world title records? 

 

 

 

For the first time in 10 years.

[Ray Gin]

This clown was on TV the other week speaking with an Australian accent in an interview because he thought Aussie's sounded like winners.

 

 

[southcap]

16 minutes ago, Jambos_1874 said:

 

Summed up perfectly!!! 

 

As has been alluded to above, if he had the mentality of Hendry he would probably be comfortably be the best player of all time by a distance. But, it isn't just about raw talent, you need to have the correct mindset and ruthless winning mentality. I always felt that Hendry had that and although talented he had to work very hard to achieve what he did, whereas with O'Sullivan he just unbelievable talent, minus the mentality/attitude.

Not sure why you are blaming Ronnie for his mental health problems. It's like blaming Chris Small for his issues.

[Nookie Bear]

He says a big part of his resurgence is down to discovering a love of running. Essentially he found an addiction that is not killing him and, in fact, gives him the mental space he was craving.

 

Bloody good at it as well.

[AlimOzturk]

15 minutes ago, Ray Gin said:

This clown was on TV the other week speaking with an Australian accent in an interview because he thought Aussie's sounded like winners.

 

 

 

He was joking ffs he wasn't actually being serious he gets annoyed when people question his frame of mind so he was taking the piss. 

[Inch Hearts]

He’s a genius.

 

When he’s strolling round the table it’s like a barber cutting my hair, knows every single play with precision.

[Inch Hearts]

11 hours ago, Cruyff Turn said:

I love Ronnie, he’s great. I watched him win a tournament the other week when he made his 1000th century in the winning frame, the table was shocking but none of the others had a chance because he could adapt, play different shots and had the cue power that no one else has.

 

He’s a genius on a snooker table and I think he’d have won 7 or 8 World titles already if his head and attitude had been where it is now.

 

For me, the best ever. Hendry will always be a great also but I don’t think he was even as good as O’Sullivan talent wise. In terms of a winning mentality, consistency and pure focus though, no one tops Hendry, his will to win was phenomenal. If Ronnie had what Hendry had in terms of mentality, he’d be Unstoppable.

 

I like snooker, always have but I only really watch it if O’Sullivans playing and that for me is the draw he has, he’s so gifted and entertaining to watch. The game is certainly not the same without him in it.

 

He could easily be at the top for another 5 years if he really wanted to but I don’t think he has the mentality to keep up there that long. Maybe he’ll do the business for another year then have a wee break and come back again in a couple of years. Can’t see him packing it in though until he’s getting papped out out of tournaments in the first round. 

 

Top post.  Spot on. 

[rudi must stay]

1 hour ago, Inch Hearts said:

He’s a genius.

 

When he’s strolling round the table it’s like a barber cutting my hair, knows every single play with precision.

 

Snooker genuis as you say

 

It will fall apart after him, can he equal Hendry?  Yes, especially with some of the players around (quite frankly not in his league, and 10, 15 years ago there was better talent in my opinion) and I think that's what is keeping him playing

[Inch Hearts]

4 minutes ago, rudi must stay said:

 

Snooker genuis as you say

 

It will fall apart after him, can he equal Hendry?  Yes, especially with some of the players around (quite frankly not in his league, and 10, 15 years ago there was better talent in my opinion) and I think that's what is keeping him playing

 

I think he will go on to better Hendry, he has to be massive favourite this year.

 

When you see the likes of Bingham reaching later stages and winning tournaments then your comment is completely justified.  Him and the bottle merchants Robertson and Selby. 

[jack D and coke]

Ronnie best ever for me too. 

Hendry changed snooker and was an incredible talent also but Ronnie is untouchable for me. 

Snooker isn’t great to watch but watching Ronnie when he’s in the groove is engrossing. 

 

[Geoff the Mince]

Cant stand snooker , nearly as painful as watching darts . Yawn ! 

[milky_26]

45 minutes ago, Inch Hearts said:

 

I think he will go on to better Hendry, he has to be massive favourite this year.

 

When you see the likes of Bingham reaching later stages and winning tournaments then your comment is completely justified.  Him and the bottle merchants Robertson and Selby. 

you do know that between those three they have 5 world titles (3 for selby) so harsh to call them bottle merchants

[Inch Hearts]

6 minutes ago, milky_26 said:

you do know that between those three they have 5 world titles (3 for selby) so harsh to call them bottle merchants

True.  But they are nowhere near the level of 20 years ago even.  And are safely first merchants maybe more than bottle.  They don’t like attacking. 

Edited March 25, 2019 by Inch Hearts

[milky_26]

Just now, Inch Hearts said:

True.  But they are nowhere near the level of 20 years ago even.  

i agree that the standard now is nowhere near the standard of the 90s

[rudi must stay]

23 minutes ago, milky_26 said:

you do know that between those three they have 5 world titles (3 for selby) so harsh to call them bottle merchants

 

I would say guys like Ding and Trump are bottle merchants, I actually like Bingham and Hawkins, Hawkins is a quiet guy but you can see he's determined and is improving all the time and Bingham is from the same school. Both good for the game but there's alot of talented players who just totally fold. 

 

McManus' revival at the end showed the game is going downhill. Never a very good player but very solid upstairs, those players are disappearing and it let him in.

[Cruyff Turn]

1 hour ago, rudi must stay said:

 

I would say guys like Ding and Trump are bottle merchants, I actually like Bingham and Hawkins, Hawkins is a quiet guy but you can see he's determined and is improving all the time and Bingham is from the same school. Both good for the game but there's alot of talented players who just totally fold. 

 

McManus' revival at the end showed the game is going downhill. Never a very good player but very solid upstairs, those players are disappearing and it let him in.

I just think Ronnie, Williams and Higgins are 3 of the best players ever and the fact that they are still ruining the best of the younger generation shows that they are just miles better, at a different level than the guys of today, probably a different level than anyone previously. Maybe it’s because they had to be that good or they wouldn’t have been able to compete with each other. 

[southcap]

Century Breaks.

 

1.Ronnie - 1008

2.Hendry - 775

3.Higgins - 750

4.Robertson - 628

5.Trump - 602

6.Selby - 577

7.Junhui - 500

8.Fu - 490

9.Murphy - 479

10. Williams - 461.

 

Half the top 10 centrury breakers are players that played in the 90',s the rest haven't.

 

You could argue that since the new players have had less time to make centuries, that their records are actually more impressive from a century/frame ratio.

 

Although we all know there is more to snooker than just pot building.

 

What I'm taking away from it is, the standard of break building and potting is definitely on the increase and players are only getting better, experience is probably still the most powerful tool in snooker.

 

 

[Mikey1874]

Ronnie is getting better. 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

I love watching him play but his interviews are terrible to listen to. Every sentence ends in You Know. Does my head in that. 

[132goals1958]

16 hours ago, I P Knightley said:

See, I don't even think he's as arrogant has he has the right to be. He knows he's good and he recognises he's good but he doesn't flaunt it - at least not in the way I would if I were that good

 

 

He's had spells where he's been like that. Turning down the black for a certain 147 when he learned how 'little' he'd make for getting it was a definite low point. But his recent interviews have all been about playing the game because he enjoys it; it's not about setting or breaking records, it's about enjoyment.

 

I really don't know what more you might want from someone at the top of their game.

 

 

And it's not a sport.

 

 

I don,t think he is either and I was quite impressed when in an interview he said in his opinion Stephen Hendry was the best player ever to pick up a cue.

 

[AlimOzturk]

Ronnie has had to compete against pretty much the same opposition as Hendry...there is only like 6 years  between them. I think his longevity and span between winning his titles In comparison to Hendry who more or lless won the bulk of his titles In 10 years.

 

The "new" crop of players in Robertson, Trump, Selby and Ding are super talented but like in Tennis the old Guard are holding there own. For example i don't think Jimmy White or Steve Davis in their prime could even compete in this era of players as the style of play is so different and the standard so much more consistent.  

 

John Higgins and Williams have always had the overall game to take players apart. Though I think a few seasons ago Williams was close to retiring after slipping down the world rankings. 

 

Edited March 25, 2019 by AlimOzturk

[shaun.lawson]

Hendry's still the Greatest for me, and will remain so unless O'Sullivan matches his 7 world titles, which I doubt will happen. But the gap between them has closed, because of Ronnie's unbelievable longevity.

 

This is someone who won his first ranking title, the UK Championship, in which he beat Hendry (who was absolutely flying at the time, and had just slaughtered John Parrott in the semis), in 1993. That he's still winning ranking titles and playing as majestically as ever 26 years later is astounding. Hendry, by contrast, was at his brilliant best for no more than a decade.

 

Putting it in perspective: when Dennis Taylor won the world title in 1985, he was 36. He was the oldest World Champion from then until O'Sullivan's fourth title aged 37 in 2013... and then, last year, Mark Williams, then aged 43, beat John Higgins, then a couple of weeks from turning 43, in the final! Hendry never won the title beyond age 30. Davis never won it beyond age 32. And both those two titans were in terminal decline by their mid-30s. 

 

Somewhere in boxes at my parents' home, I still have copies of Pot Black and Snooker Scene from circa 1991, in which there were articles on teenage wunderkinds, O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams. That they're all still at the top of the game - with less than 9 months separating them in age - is a tribute to all three of them.

 

Two other thoughts. First: you cannot slag off Ronnie O'Sullivan for his 'mentality' when he has, as a minimum, clinical depression (which I've even seen referred to as bipolar disorder once or twice). How many clinical depressives live out their lives in the public eye, and had both parents imprisoned while they were still children? What he's achieved given all that is incredible.

 

And if Ronnie had a stronger 'mentality', he wouldn't have that genius which makes him so watchable. This is true of many geniuses in sport: think Diego Maradona. Or Paul Gascoigne. Or George Best. Or Alex Higgins. Or to a lesser extent, Jimmy White. Sporting geniuses are wired differently; they always seem to find life a lot more difficult than their chosen sport.

 

And second: there's darts fans on here too, of course. After the PDC breakaway in 1993, it took about 15 years for a new generation to emerge in darts... because the progress of the previous one had been completely blocked off by the disgraceful Olly Croft of the BDO. Snooker never had a breakaway, but it did have the most enormous financial problems throughout the 2000s, which almost killed the sport. I think that's what explains the lack of young players overhauling the old guard now.

 

In both sports, we're basically talking about a lost generation. Darts had recovered by the end of the last decade/start of this one. Snooker should be back to normal by 2025 or so. Until then: enjoy Williams, Higgins and especially O'Sullivan. None of them are done yet. 

[shaun.lawson]

The 10 Greatest Snooker Players of All Time

 

1. Stephen Hendry (Scotland)

2. Ronnie O'Sullivan (England)

3. Steve Davis (England)

4. Joe Davis (England)*

5. Ray Reardon (Wales)

6. John Higgins (Scotland)

7. Mark Williams (Wales)

8. Mark Selby (England)

9. Alex Higgins (Northern Ireland)

10. Jimmy White (England)**

 

*Dubious I know, but he won 15 world titles!

**Even more dubious, but sod putting Spencer, Parrott or Doherty above him.

[Inch Hearts]

Ronnie is the best ever player.  

[AlimOzturk]

43 minutes ago, shaun.lawson said:

Hendry's still the Greatest for me, and will remain so unless O'Sullivan matches his 7 world titles, which I doubt will happen. But the gap between them has closed, because of Ronnie's unbelievable longevity.

 

This is someone who won his first ranking title, the UK Championship, in which he beat Hendry (who was absolutely flying at the time, and had just slaughtered John Parrott in the semis), in 1993. That he's still winning ranking titles and playing as majestically as ever 26 years later is astounding. Hendry, by contrast, was at his brilliant best for no more than a decade.

 

Putting it in perspective: when Dennis Taylor won the world title in 1985, he was 36. He was the oldest World Champion from then until O'Sullivan's fourth title aged 37 in 2013... and then, last year, Mark Williams, then aged 43, beat John Higgins, then a couple of weeks from turning 43, in the final! Hendry never won the title beyond age 30. Davis never won it beyond age 32. And both those two titans were in terminal decline by their mid-30s. 

 

Somewhere in boxes at my parents' home, I still have copies of Pot Black and Snooker Scene from circa 1991, in which there were articles on teenage wunderkinds, O'Sullivan, Higgins and Williams. That they're all still at the top of the game - with less than 9 months separating them in age - is a tribute to all three of them.

 

Two other thoughts. First: you cannot slag off Ronnie O'Sullivan for his 'mentality' when he has, as a minimum, clinical depression (which I've even seen referred to as bipolar disorder once or twice). How many clinical depressives live out their lives in the public eye, and had both parents imprisoned while they were still children? What he's achieved given all that is incredible.

 

And if Ronnie had a stronger 'mentality', he wouldn't have that genius which makes him so watchable. This is true of many geniuses in sport: think Diego Maradona. Or Paul Gascoigne. Or George Best. Or Alex Higgins. Or to a lesser extent, Jimmy White. Sporting geniuses are wired differently; they always seem to find life a lot more difficult than their chosen sport.

 

And second: there's darts fans on here too, of course. After the PDC breakaway in 1993, it took about 15 years for a new generation to emerge in darts... because the progress of the previous one had been completely blocked off by the disgraceful Olly Croft of the BDO. Snooker never had a breakaway, but it did have the most enormous financial problems throughout the 2000s, which almost killed the sport. I think that's what explains the lack of young players overhauling the old guard now.

 

In both sports, we're basically talking about a lost generation. Darts had recovered by the end of the last decade/start of this one. Snooker should be back to normal by 2025 or so. Until then: enjoy Williams, Higgins and especially O'Sullivan. None of them are done yet. 

 

It'll be dominated by Chinese/Asian players by that time. The investment over there in comparison to the UK is night and day between the two.   

 

I can see the sport moving towards that market more and more as the years go on. Once the Ronnie O'Sullivan draw is gone there will be no more UK appeal...He literally is the life blood of the UK audience ATM. 

[Mikey1874]

3 hours ago, AlimOzturk said:

Ronnie has had to compete against pretty much the same opposition as Hendry...there is only like 6 years  between them. I think his longevity and span between winning his titles In comparison to Hendry who more or lless won the bulk of his titles In 10 years.

 

The "new" crop of players in Robertson, Trump, Selby and Ding are super talented but like in Tennis the old Guard are holding there own. For example i don't think Jimmy White or Steve Davis in their prime could even compete in this era of players as the style of play is so different and the standard so much more consistent.  

 

John Higgins and Williams have always had the overall game to take players apart. Though I think a few seasons ago Williams was close to retiring after slipping down the world rankings. 

 

 

Hendry went on a run into top form and maintained it over several years. Then declined. 

 

O'Sullivan started in great form /natural talent, and has improved or come back into form several times over a longer period by addressing his emotional and mental challenges. 

 

So for example as said above his running has helped him settle his mind and improve his focus. Sometimes tackling problems can give you greater longevity. 

Edited March 25, 2019 by Mikey1874

[Jambos_1874]

12 hours ago, southcap said:

Not sure why you are blaming Ronnie for his mental health problems. It's like blaming Chris Small for his issues.

 

I'm not "blaming him". I'm simply stating that if he had the same mentality as Hendry then he would comfortably be the best ever.

[southcap]

10 hours ago, Jambos_1874 said:

 

I'm not "blaming him". I'm simply stating that if he had the same mentality as Hendry then he would comfortably be the best ever.

Apologies, misread your post. Thought you had said he chose to have the mentality that he does.