Ronnie O'Sullivan's sixth World Championship breaks the ranking title record and brings up his 20th Triple Crown triumph
Ronnie O'Sullivan's sixth World Championship broke Stephen Hendry's record for the most career ranking titles and also extended his all-time Triple Crown tally to 20. We look back at his 28 years of astonishing milestones, achievements statistics, maximum breaks, and fan-pleasing antics.
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O'Sullivan may well still be a solitary world title shy of Hendry's historic mark of seven after his 18-8 victory over Kyren Wilson drew him level with Steve Davis and Ray Reardon, but few can possibly dispute the Rocket's unofficial status as the greatest snooker player of all time.
His swashbuckling professional career spanning 28 glorious years has taken snooker fans to mesmerising heights and even at the age of 44, his continued brilliance and popularity across all generations is keeping him very much at the forefront of the sport. Despite what he says about his cue action.
O'Sullivan's longevity at the top is almost as remarkable as his breathtaking standard of play and his mind-boggling collection of records, titles and century milestones. Way back in 1993 at the age of 17 he became the youngest winner of a ranking event at the UK Championship, and 27 years on he's bagged a record-breaking 37th as the oldest Crucible champion since Reardon in 1978.
His all-time leading tally of 20 Triple Crowns, which also consists of seven UK Championships and seven Masters, is now two more than what Hendry achieved in his legendary career, although the Scotsman condensed his 18 (7 worlds, 5 UKs & 6 Masters) into a formidable 10-year spell from 1989 to 1999.
Hendry, who turned pro in 1985 aged 16, twice managed to win all three prestigious tournaments in one season (1989-90 & 95-96) - a feat O'Sullivan has never achieved - but only managed four more ranking triumphs this Millennium until he retired at the age of 43 following his 27th consecutive World Championship in 2012.
O'Sullivan's sixth world title came on his 28th appearance in a row here, and during the final he played his 1,847th Crucible frame to creep past the record previously set by Hendry of 1,846. The Romford potter has amassed 52 more Crucible centuries (179 vs 127) to take his astonishing overall career tally to 1,061 compared to Scotsman's mark of 775 - which is second on the all-time list - while 15 of those were maximums. Yes, that's yet another record and four clear of Hendry.
Although they've both thrilled the Sheffield crowd with three 147s apiece at snooker's spiritual home, the Rocket's incomprehensibly brilliant maiden maximum in five minutes eight seconds will never be surpassed and it speaks volumes that the closest anyone has ever got is O'Sullivan himself when clocking six minutes and 30 seconds against Marco Fu in 2003.
There's obviously a lot more to consider than just stone cold statistics and tallies when debating greatest players of all time, but there can be no doubt the genius manner in which O'Sullivan's numbers escalated - not to mention the entertainment factor away from the baize - has helped him transcend his sport and popular culture like no other.
Here's a look back through time at his 20 Triple Crown titles, his 15 career maximums and the typically memorable moment he scored his 1000th century last year.
Ronnie's 20 Triple Crowns
1. UK Championship 1993
Ronnie O'Sullivan had not yet turned 18 but he'd already earned his nickname 'The Rocket' after winning a best-of-nine frame encounter in a record-breaking 43 minutes during his debut professional season (1992-93), in which he'd also claimed a maiden non-ranking title and qualified for his first World Championship, where he lost 10-7 to Alan McManus. The prodigious talent underlined his rich potential in emphatic fashion at just his second UK Championship by beating Ken Doherty, Steve Davis and Darren Morgan before defeating Stephen Hendry, who'd already won three world titles, two UK crowns and five successive Masters by this time, 10–6 in the final. At the age of 17 years and 358 days he became the youngest ever winner of a ranking event and that record still stands.
2. Masters 1995
Now in the world's top 16 for the first time, Ronnie O'Sullivan booked his place in the Masters tournament automatically, having made his debut the previous year after coming through the qualifying event ranked 57 in the world. On that occasion he was thrashed 5-1 by Dennis Taylor in the wildcard round but this was a completely different story, overcoming John Parrott, Terry Griffiths and Peter Ebdon prior to a 9-3 triumph over fellow teenage sensation John Higgins. At 19 years and 69 days, O'Sullivan became the youngest Masters champion and that record stands today. Higgins was also 19 and just like O'Sullivan 12 months earlier, came through a qualifying event ranked 51 in the world.
3. UK Championship 1997
Eight months on from cementing his status as a sporting superstar for life with his five minute and eight second maximum at the Crucible, O'Sullivan picked up his second UK crown after claiming a 9-6 victory over Hendry in the final, ending the Scotsman's three-year grip on the trophy in the process.
The result gained revenge from losing a deciding frame in that year's Charity Challenge final, in which Hendry scored an iconic maximum break. Well worth a watch even for Ronnie fans!
4. World Championship 2001
While his Triple Crown success dried up for a few years, O'Sullivan was still building his tally of ranking and non-ranking titles and it surely seemed just a matter of time before he'd finally go all the way on the biggest stage of all. After three semi-final defeats in the 1990s and a shock 10-9 defeat to David Gray in round one of the Millennium edition, O'Sullivan reached his first Crucible final by overcoming Andy Hicks (10-2), Dave Harold (13-6), Peter Ebdon (13-6) and Joe Swail (17-11) before an absorbing 18-14 victory over 1998 champion John Higgins.
5. UK Championship 2001
O'Sullivan was riding on a crest of a wave by the end of the year and after edging out Peter Ebdon 9-8 in the quarter-finals and Mark Williams 9-6 in the semis, the Rocket destroyed Ken Doherty 10-1 to land his third UK title. It's was the heaviest scoreline since the event's final became best of 19 frames back in 1993 and it's only been matched once since when Stephen Maguire thrashed David Gray in 2004.
6. World Championship 2004
History repeated itself three years on from his maiden world title in the sense he'd suffered a first-round exit 12 months earlier, this time against Marco Fu despite firing in a 147 break. Having enlisted the help of six-time world champion Ray Reardon to rediscover his magic, he battled past Stephen Maguire (10-6) and Andy Hicks (13-11) before imperiously wiping the floor with Anthony Hamilton (13-3) and Stephen Hendry (17-4) with sessions to spare, while his 18-8 hammering of Graeme Dott was pretty brutal too as he returned to the top of the world rankings, where he'd stay for the next two seasons.
7. Masters 2005
O'Sullivan had finished runner-up in the Masters three times since his maiden title in this tournament in 1995 - to Hendry (1996), Steve Davis (1997) and Paul Hunter (2004) - but he'd get his hands on the new crystal triangle trophy with a 10-3 demolition job of John Higgins. He'd previously brushed aside Dott (6-3), Ding Junhui (6-2) and Jimmy White (6-1) as he continued to dazzle the crowds.
8. Masters 2007
A year after John Higgins got his revenge in the 2006 final with a nail-biting 10-9 that went down to the black, O'Sullivan broke the heart of 19-year-old sensation Ding Junhui with a resounding 10-3 triumph featuring four Rocket centuries, including a fine clearance of 143.
9. UK Championship 2007
Twelve months earlier, the Rocket hit the headlines for the wrong reasons at the Barbican when forfeiting his quarter-final against Stephen Hendry when trailing 4-1 in the first to nine frames. He declared the match over when missing a red in frame six despite leading 24-0 at the time and although he later apologised to Hendry and his fans, O'Sullivan was fined £20,800 for his actions. This year he made the back pages for making amends in majestic fashion by compiling a breathtaking 147 break in the deciding frame of his semi-final with Mark Selby. It was the eighth maximum of his career and he followed it up by thrashing Stephen Maguire 10-2 for his fourth UK title.
10. World Championship 2008
Four months later he'd bring a packed house to their feet yet again with his third maximum break of the season and his third at the Crucible. Remarkably, just like against Selby, this would be a match-winning 147 as he beat Mark Williams 13-7 in round two before seeing off Liang Wenbo (13-7) and Stephen Hendry (17-6) to reach the final. He won 12 frames in a row against the Scotsman, who was beaten with a session to spare, and didn't give Ali Carter much of a look in either, triumphing 18-8.
11. Masters 2009
O'Sullivan set up another instalment of his budding rivalry with Mark Selby after beating Joe Perry (6-5), Ali Carter (6-2) and Stephen Maguire (6-1) and he'd edge another titanic tussle between the pair 10-8 to claim his fourth Masters title.
12. World Championship 2012
Mark Allen, Mark Selby and John Higgins had all thwarted his attempts to lift the Crucible trophy for a fourth time as he failed to get past the quarter-final in any of the previous three seasons. Nobody could stop him this time as he downed former champions Peter Ebdon (10-4), Mark Williams (13-6) and Neil Robertson (13-10) before waltzing past Matthew Stevens (17-10) in the semi-finals and Ali Carter 18-11 for the title. His top break of 141 was the highest in a World Championship final, beating O'Sullivan's previous best mark of 139 in 2001.
13. World Championship 2013
Despite eventually signing the official WPBSA players' contract after initially refusing to do so, O'Sullivan decided to miss virtually the entire 2012-13 season but thankfully announced at the end of February that he would return at the Crucible. Three months later he successfully defended the World Championship title for the first time in his career. No player since Hendry in 1996 had retained the trophy while his 128th Crucible century during the 18-12 triumph over Barry Hawkins saw him move past the Scotsman's all-time record. It was one of six tons he managed in the final - another record - and his victory at the age of 37 meant he was the oldest player since Ray Reardon in 1978 to become world champion. Earlier in the tournament he'd beaten Marcus Campbell (10-4), Ali Carter (13-8), Stuart Bingham (13-4) and Judd Trump 17-11.
14. Masters 2014
O'Sullivan's inactivity in the previous season had saw him slump down to 19 in the rankings but his status as world champion earned him a spot in the Masters field. He set a professional snooker record by scoring 556 unanswered points in a 6-0 quarter-final victory over Ricky Walden in 58 minutes and went on to reach his 10th final in the event - breaking Hendry's previous best of nine. There, the Rocket punished Mark Selby 10-4 but the Jester would of course get his revenge in the World Championship final later that season.
15. UK Championship 2014
O'Sullivan's fifth UK Championship is another iconic moment in his career after he followed up the 13th 147 maximum break of his career against Matthew Selt in the last 16 before edging out rising star Judd Trump 10-9 in a truly gripping final that he'd led 9-4.
16. Masters 2016
O'Sullivan returned to the sport just in time for the Masters after a near eight-month hiatus in which he decided to defend his UK Championship title in December 2015. Having recently been awarded an OBE for his services to snooker, the Rocket beat Mark Williams (6-5), Mark Selby (6-3), Stuart Bingham (6-3) before annihilating Barry Hawkins 10-1 to equal Hendry's tally of six Masters titles. It was the biggest margin of victory in the tournament's final since Steve Davis whitewashed Mike Hallett 9-0 in 1988.
17. Masters 2017
O'Sullivan came into the Masters on the back of losing the UK Championship final to Mark Selby but bounced back with wins over Liang Wenbo (6-5), Neil Robertson (6-3) and Marco Fu (6-4) before successfully defending his crown with a 10-7 triumph over Joe Perry. By becoming the first player since Paul Hunter in 2002 to retain it, O'Sullivan could celebrate a record seventh Masters title.
18. UK Championship 2017
The Rocket not only equalled Steve Davis' record of six UK titles by defeating Shaun Murphy 10-5 but he also moved level with Stephen Hendry on 18 Triple Crown triumphs. He hadn't been at his fluent best earlier in the tournament but managed three century breaks and 10 above 50 when the trophy was on the line.
19. UK Championship 2018
Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed a record-breaking seventh UK Championship title with a 10-6 victory over Mark Allen at the York Barbican. His triumph, which came a quarter of a century after he won his first United Kingdom crown as a 17-year-old, also saw O'Sullivan nudge ahead of Stephen Hendry with 19 Triple Crown titles - comprising the World and UK Championships and the Masters. He reeled off six consecutive frames to establish a four-frame advantage at the interval and despite a brief rally by his opponent he wrapped up victory with a break of 78. It capped a tumultuous tournament for O'Sullivan, who had threatened to launch a breakaway tour then required a final-frame decider to edge past veteran Ken Doherty in round two.
20. World Championship 2020
Ronnie O'Sullivan's legendary status reached yet another level when breaking the ranking title record of 36 that he'd previously shared with Stephen Hendry by landing the biggest of the lot for the sixth time. He hadn't reached the final since his defeat to Mark Selby in 2014 and hadn't even gone beyond the quarter-finals in this time, while his first-round defeat to qualifier James Cahill 12 months earlier went down as one of the biggest shocks in World Championship history. However, this latest unforgettable run at an empty Crucible began with an astonishing 10-1 triumph over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in just 108 minutes - the quickest best-of-19 frame match ever by 41 minutes - but he had to battle much harder to see off Ding Junhui and Mark Williams 13-10. While his comments about needing to lose one arm to drop out of the world's top 50 were still going viral, it looked as though he'd bow out when supposedly playing recklessly against Mark Selby in the semi-final. But despite trailing 16-14, he brilliantly won three frames on the trot to complete a remarkable day of semi-final snooker before wiping the floor with Kyren Wilson 18-8 in front of the returning, adoring, Crucible crowd.
Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum breaks
1. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 1997 World Championship v Mick Price
2. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 1999 Welsh Open v James Wattana
3. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 1999 Grand Prix v Graeme Dott
4. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2000 Scottish Open v Quinten Hann
5. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2001 LG Cup - Drew Hendry
6. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2003 World Championship - Marco Fu
7. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2007 Northern Ireland Trophy - Ali Carter
8. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2007 UK Championship - Mark Selby
9. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2008 World Championship - Mark Williams
10. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2010 World Open - Mark King
11. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2011 Paul Hunter Classic - Adam Duffy
12. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2014 Welsh Open - Ding Junhui
13. Ronnie O'Sullivan 2014 UK Championship - Matthew Selt
14. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2018 China Open - Elliot Slessor
15. Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2018 English Open - Allan Taylor
This maximum in an exhibition against Reanne Evans last year is also well worth a watch. He managed it in six minutes and there was an amusing moment at the end when he removed the sponsor logo from his waistcoat!
Ronnie O'Sullivan's 1000th century
Ronnie O’Sullivan registered the 1000th century break of his extraordinary career to win the final of the 2019 Players Championship. The Rocket dominated from the start against Neil Robertson, winning 10-4, and finished in style by reaching a career milestone which may never be passed. Earlier breaks of 116 and 105 had moved O’Sullivan onto 999 and any speculation that he would wait for the World Championship to reach a thousand was ended with a sumptuous 134. In typical fashion, the 100th point of his 1000th century was secured left-handed, and O'Sullivan - to continued, rapturous applause - went on to clear the table fully, even the white finding its way to the pocket to deny what would've been a 141.
As an added bonus, here's how he equalled Stephen Hendry's century break record of 775 against Ricky Walden...
Ronnie O'Sullivan career stats
- World Championship: 6 (2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020)
Runner-up in 2014 - UK Championship: 7* (1993, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2014, 2017, 2018)
Runner-up in 2016 - Masters: 7* (1995, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2017)
Runner-up in 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2019 - Total ranking titles: 37* (53 finals)
- Minor ranking titles: 3 (6 finals)
- Non-ranking titles: 33 (50 finals)
- Century breaks: 1,061* (179 at Crucible*)
- 147 Breaks: 15* (three at the Crucible)
* Most in snooker history
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