Ronnie O'Sullivan's career statistics and achievements as he targets a record-breaking eighth World Snooker Championship title and a 24th Triple Crown at the Crucible

While many had given the enigmatic Rocket GOAT status on talent grounds long before he’d surpassed Stephen Hendry’s records for most ranking titles (36) and Triple Crowns (18) due to the countless moments of unfathomable genius and blockbusting entertainment he’d treated us to since bursting onto the scene in 1993, the statistics are equally breathtaking.

O’Sullivan's magic seventh World Championship title against Judd Trump at the age of 46 years and 148 days back in 2022 – 21 years after his first – finally drew him level with the 'King of the Crucible', but since then he's continued to move further clear at the top for all the other records that matter – and many others.

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The oldest ever world champion has most ranking titles (41), most Triple Crowns (23), most UK Championships (8), most Masters titles (8), most career centuries (1,260) and most maximum breaks (15), including the fastest – and greatest – ever made in 1997.

Although his magic powers don't extend beyond the snooker table and allow him to turn back time enough to break Hendry's record of being the youngest Crucible champion, he holds that honour in the UK Championship (aged 17 in 1993) and the Masters (aged 19 in 1995) while he then brilliantly became the oldest champion in both of these Triple Crown events earlier this season either side of his 48th birthday.

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Incredibly, this is the first time in his glorious 32-year career that he's lifted the UK and Masters trophies in the same season, which means he'll head to Sheffield in April with a completely new pressure on his shoulders - attempting to complete the Triple Crown clean sweep.

Only Steve Davis (1987/88), Stephen Hendry (1989/90, 1995/96) and Mark Williams (2002/03) have this astonishing accomplishment on their CVs while this will be just the ninth time anyone has gone for it.

Below, we'll look back at each of O'Sullivan's Triple Crown triumphs in chronological order as he nears an almighty and unprecedented '888' that probably won't be matched by anyone for many years to come – if ever.

Ronnie's Triple Crown Timeline

1. UK Championship (1) 1993: 10-6 v Stephen Hendry

Snooker fans had already started to get excited about Ronnie O'Sullivan's natural talents and rich potential after he'd qualified for his Crucible debut earlier in 1993 following a highly impressive debut season in the pro ranks. That campaign ended in the first round defeat to Alan McManus but in just his second Triple Crown event six months later, he got revenge over 'Angles' before beating the likes of Ken Doherty and Steve Davis en route to the UK Championship final, where he shot to stardom with a 10-6 victory over Stephen Hendry. His legendary opponent had already picked up 10 Triple Crowns by this point in his career, including three world titles, but O'Sullivan's triumph seven days before his 18th birthday saw him become snooker's youngest winner of a ranking event - a record that still stands. The way the some members of a jubilant crowd tried to reach out to him during the celebrations was just a future glimpse of his unparalleled popularity in snooker.

2. Masters (1) 1995: 9-3 v John Higgins

The Rocket's stellar start to his career had seen him break into the world's top 10 and named WPBSA's Player of the Year for 1994, so he turned up to his second Masters among the favourites for glory. After overcoming John Parrott, Terry Griffiths and Peter Ebdon, O'Sullivan brushed aside fellow 'Class of 93' starlet John Higgins 9-3 to pick up his second Triple Crown. Although he didn't pick up any ranking titles during the 1994-95 season, the prestigious nature of this honour more than made up for it while his run to the World Championship quarter-finals - where he lost to Hendry - was his best run at the Crucible.

3. UK Championship (2) 1997: 10-6 v Stephen Hendry

O'Sullivan's snooker genius firmly transcended popular culture in 1997 thanks to his breathtaking 147 break in just five minutes and eight seconds at the Crucible and although he was still waiting for his first World Championship, he did end the calendar year on another high with his second UK title with another dominant win over Hendry, who was chasing a fourth successive crown having last lost to Rocket in the 1993 final.

4. World Championship (1) 2001: 18-14 v John Higgins

After a relatively barren spell of major titles, O'Sullivan ended a resurgent season that had seen him pick up five titles overall by getting his hands on on the most prestigious trophy of them all at the World Championship. It may have taken him longer than most people expected to reach his first Crucible final but having beaten Andy Hicks, Dave Harold, Peter Ebdon and Joe Swail to get there, the Rocket led commandingly from the front to defeat John Higgins 18-14.

5. UK Championship (3) 2001: 10-6 v Stephen Hendry

The world champion would reach the top of the rankings by the end of this season and that was partly due to lifting his third UK Championship trophy with a string of dominant displays against the likes of Ali Carter (9-2), Mark Williams (9-6) and Ken Doherty (10-1) in the final - although his comeback from 8-4 down to beat Peter Ebdon 9-8 in the quarter-finals was pivotal. At the time he became just the fifth player to win both the world and UK titles in the same calendar year behind Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott and John Higgins.

6. World Championship (2) 2004: 18-8 v Graeme Dott

O'Sullivan headed into the 2004 World Championship off the back of a highly consistent season despite picking up 'just' one ranking title while he'd agonisingly lost a brilliant Masters final to the late Paul Hunter 9-8. The Rocket subsequently enlisted the help and guidance of Ray Reardon and the Welsh legend's advice proved invaluable as O'Sullivan took care of Stephen Maguie (10-6), Andy Hicks (13-11) and Anthony Hamilton (13-3) before dismantling Stephen Hendry 17-4 in the most one-sided semi-final of all time. Despite a sluggish start against Graeme Dott in the final - which was allegedly caused by an unsettling pre-match visit from former coach Derek Hill who was now in the Scotsman's corner - he roared back from 5-0 down to win 18 of the next 21 frames to run out a resounding champion.

7. Masters (2) 2005: 10-3 v John Higgins

It had been eight years since O'Sullivan first became a Masters champion and it was the player he beat that day - John Higgins - who was his final victim on this occasion. The Scotsman branded him a 'genius' in the post-match interviews after watching the Rocket combine 10 breaks of over 50 and three centuries in a quite stunning 10-3 triumph. It capped a dominant tournament for O'Sullivan, who'd lost just six frames across his previous wins over Graeme Dott, Ding Junhui and Jimmy White.

8. Masters (3) 2007: 10-3 v Ding Junhui

O'Sullivan had courted his fair share of controversy over the previous couple of years - including cue tip drama against Graeme Dott in his 2006 World Championship semi-final defeat and conceding a match against Stephen Hendry at the UK Championship when trailing 4-1 in a best-of-17 tie - and he gave his fans another rollercoaster ride during the 2007 Masters. After thrashing Ali Carter he was excused from media duties due to 'exceptional circumstances affecting him' but that didn't stop him edging past Ken Doherty and Stephen Maguire before a clinical 10-3 triumph over Ding Junhui in the final.

9. UK Championship (4) 2007: 10-2 v Stephen Maguire

The Rocket's fourth UK title technically arrived in emphatic fashion when thrashing Stephen Maguire 10-2 - but it was the manner of his semi-final triumph over Mark Selby that this tournament is remembered by. When level at 8-8, O'Sullivan sent the snooker world crazy by winning what should have been a tense deciding frame with the eighth maximum break of his career. At the time only Stephen Hendry had managed to compile a 147 in a final-frame decider and that happened against O'Sullivan in the 1997 Charity Challenge final.

10. World Championship (3) 2008: 18-8 v Ali Carter

O'Sullivan brought up double figures for Triple Crown titles by completing a hat-trick of World Championship wins with a dominant 18-8 demolition job of Ali Carter. Both players had previously compiled maximum breaks during their Crucible runs, with the Rocket's 147 against Mark Williams being branded as 'total genius' by Dennis Taylor on commentary. It was his third of the season, his third at the Crucible and also the second time in the season when his maximum had completed a victory. The Romford ace also beat Chinese duo Liu Chuang and Liang Wenbo during the tournament while he demolished Stephen Hendry 17-6 in the semi-finals. The Scotsman later branded O'Sullivan as the best player in the world by a 'country mile'.

11. Masters (4) 2009: 10-8 v Mark Selby

O'Sullivan advanced to his eighth Masters final thanks to wins over Joe Perry (6-5), Ali Carter (6-2) and Stephen Maguire (6-1) but the 2009 final was another early glimpse at how hard Mark Selby would push the Rocket during the next stage of his career. At eight frames apiece, O'Sullivan dug deep to close out an intense 10-8 victory and become only the second player alongside Stephen Hendry to lift the Masters trophy more than three times. However, Selby would get his revenge 12 months later by defeating the Rocket 10-9 in another gruelling final.

12. World Championship (4) 2012: 18-11 v Ali Carter

Three years had passed since O'Sullivan's last Triple Crown success and had suffered early exits at this season's UK Championship and Masters prior to his latest Crucible campaign. The Rocket, who had enlisted the help of psychiatrist Steve Peters throughout the season, bounced back in ominous fashion by brushing aside Peter Ebdon (10–4), Mark Williams (13–6), Neil Robertson (13–10) and Matthew Stevens (17–10) another one-sided triumph over Ali Carter in a repeat of the 2008 final. On this occasion he won 18-1 to become the oldest world champion since 45-year-old Ray Reardon in 1978 but even at the age of 36, he was still only roughly halfway through his haul of Triple Crown conquests.

13. World Championship (5) 2013: 18-12 v Barry Hawkins

O'Sullivan took an extended break from snooker during the 2012/13 season and turned up to the Crucible for his World Championship title defence on the back of just one competitive match. Only a player with insane levels of talent could prevail after such little preparation but that's exactly what the Rocket has. After cruising past Marcus Campbell, Ali Carter and Stuart Bingham for the loss of just 16 frames, O'Sullivan put Judd Trump to the sword 17-11 in the semi-finals before overcoming Barry Hawkins 18-12 with another sublime display. He became the first player to score six century breaks in a World Championship final, which also saw him break Stephen Hendry's record of 127 Crucible centuries, but more importantly he joined the Scotsman and Steve Davis as the only players to retain the title here.

14. Masters (5) 2014: 10-4 v Mark Selby

O'Sullivan would ordinarily have missed out on the Masters due to his ranking of 24 but earned his invitation by virtue of being world champion. And more records would subsequently be broken. After thrashing Robert Milkins 6-1, he then scored 556 unanswered points in a 6-0 drubbing of Ricky Walden in just 58 minutes, which eclipsed the previous record of 495 by Ding Junhui against Stephen Hendry in the 2007 Premier League. A 6-2 win over Stephen Maguire saw him surpass Hendry's record of nine finals in this event and he didn't show defending champion Mark Selby any mercy either, running out a 10-4 winner to lead their trilogy of Masters finals 2-1. O'Sullivan's other notable record-breaking achievement this season saw him move past Hendry for most maximum breaks with 12 - and he did it some style to win the Welsh Open final 9-3 against Ding. At the Crucible, Selby got revenge for his Masters defeat by beating O'Sullivan 18-14 in the final and preventing the Rocket from winning a third successive world title. It remains his one and only defeat in a Crucible final.

15. UK Championship (5) 2014: 10-9 v Judd Trump

Not only has O'Sullivan hit more 147 breaks than anyone else but he has an incredible habit of winning matches with one. The 13th of his career (of a total 15) against Matthew Selt was his fifth of six match-winning maximums in his career and the second time he'd done it at the UK Championship. Whereas the first against Mark Selby came in 'that' semi-final back in 2007, this one merely completed a 6-0 rout in round four. His campaign had largely been a procession at this point but he had to battle past both Anthony McGill and Stuart Bingham to reach a final with Judd Trump that he led 9-4 only to be taken to a nerve-jangling decider. The Rocket held his nerve to get the job done and become a five-time UK champion.

16. Masters (6) 2016: 10-1 v Barry Hawkins

O'Sullivan took a break of around eight months during the 2015/16 season citing debilitating insomnia and subsequently turned down the opportunity to defend his UK title. He did return to action in December and was suitably prepared enough to launch another successful Masters campaign in which the toughest match ended up being his first-round encounter against Mark Williams, which he edged 6-5. After that he coasted past Mark Selby and Stuart Bingham before annihilating Barry Hawkins 10–1 to equal Hendry's record of six Masters titles. A season which will also be remembered for his refusal to make a 147 at the Welsh Open over prize money would end in disappointment with a 13-12 defeat to Hawkins in round two of the World Championship.

17. Masters (7) 2017: 10-7 v Joe Perry

Two months on from suffering his first defeat in a UK Championship final at the hands of Mark Selby, O'Sullivan arrived at the Alexandra Palace as defending champion and needed a dramatic first-round win over Liang Wenbo to keep his title hopes alive. Wenbo missed the final black for a 6-4 upset before the Rocket made him pay with a fittingly brilliant 121 break in thrilling climax. Relatively simpler wins followed over Neil Robertson and Marco Fu before a hard-fought 10-7 triumph over Joe Perry saw him lift the Masters trophy for a record seventh time. He was later warned by World Snooker for critical remarks he made about the referee after his win over Fu and he retaliated by claiming he'd not give in-depth answers any more. This prompted his infamous robot impression during interviews at the World Grand Prix a month later, while the next time he spoke at length to the press came at the World Championship, where he unleashed an attack on the WPBSA for bullying behaviour that further escalated tension between both parties.

18. UK Championship (6) 2018: 10-5 v Shaun Murphy

The 2017/18 season was a record-equalling campaign in the career of O'Sullivan as matched Steve Davis' record of six UK Championship titles and Stephen Hendry's haul of 18 Triple Crowns. After surviving a final-frame scare against Sunny Akani in the last 16 he found the going much easier after that against Martin Gould and Stephen Maguire before swotting aside Shaun Murphy 10-5 in the final. Although the Rocket suffered an infamously bad-tempered defeat to Ali Carter at the World Championship, he did end up a personal best of five ranking titles in a single season which also a joint record at the time before Judd Trump eclipsed it with six in 2019/20.

19. UK Championship (7) 2018: 10-6 v Mark Allen

At this stage of his career, O'Sullivan was seemingly reaching new milestones with every passing tournament. Having already become the first player to surpass £10million in prize money by winning the Shanghai Masters earlier in the season, O'Sullivan enjoyed one of his most dominant UK Championship campaigns to get his hands on the trophy for a record seventh time. He lost just nine frames across the six victories that got him to the final - and five of them came in a 6-5 victory over veteran campaigner Ken Doherty in round two - and runner-up Mark Allen didn't trouble him too much either as he ran out a 10-6 winner to also become a 19-time Triple Crown champion. If those records weren't enough, he won the Players Championship against Neil Robertson with his unforgettable 1000th century and then clinched a record-equalling 36th ranking title by landing the Tour Championship against the same opponent. Despite returning to the world number one spot for the first time in nine years, he'd suffer a shock first-round defeat to James Cahill at the Crucible.

20. World Championship (6) 2020: 18-8 v Kyren Wilson

O'Sullivan's 28th consecutive World Championship - which surpassed Hendry's mark of 27 - took place in August due to the Covid pandemic but the lack of his usual support didn't bother him as he took just 108 minutes to brush aside Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 10–1 in the fastest match in Crucible history. A pair of 13-10 triumphs over Ding Junhui and Mark Williams followed before one of the most dramatic semi-finals in World Championship history ensued against his old rival Mark Selby. Trailing 16-14, the Rocket compiled breaks of 138 and 71 to force an unbelievably tense decider that boiled down to a safety battle on the final red. O'Sullivan eventually potted it and clinched the frame but then had to defend himself against Selby's accusations of being 'disrespectful' for some hit and hope attempts to get out of snookers. The final, played in front of a small crowd, was less dramatic as he ran out an 18-8 winner over Kyren Wilson to pick up his sixth world crown and a record 37th ranking title.

21. World Championship (7) 2022: 18-13 v Judd Trump

The documentary-makers cameras were rolling to capture the world's longest ever sporting embrace on an emotional night at the Crucible in 2022 as O'Sullivan won a record-equalling seventh World Championship title against Judd Trump. By finally levelling up with Hendry on his 30th Crucible appearance - which also matched Steve Davis' longevity - he also became the oldest world champion at 46 years and 148 days, surpassing Ray Reardon, who had held the record since 1978. The manner in which he coasted to this record-breaking 37th ranking title with relative ease - his victory margins against David Gilbert, Mark Allen, Stephen Maguire, John Higgins and Trump (18-13) were all by five frames or more - proved there's plenty more film reel needed to follow the rest of the Rocket's career.

22. UK Championship (8) 2023: 10-7 v Ding Junhui

Thirty years on from becoming the youngest ever winner of the UK Championship - a record he still holds - the GOAT became the oldest player to get his hands on this trophy at the age of 47 years and 363 days with a 10-7 victory over Ding Junhui. This surpassed the age Doug Mountjoy was back in 1988 while earlier in the week he'd become the first player to rack up 100 match wins in this tournament when edging past Zhou Yuelong 6-5 in the quarter-finals. The Rocket, who'd also survived a scare against Rob Milkins in the previous round, also defeated Hossein Vafaei 6-2 in the last four to set up a final with Ding, who was level at 7-7 before O'Sullivan raced away with two centuries in the last three frames, including a 129 to finish the job.

23. Masters (8) 2024: 10-4 v Ali Carter

O'Sullivan's latest Masters success hit the headlines for both his brilliance off the table and his comments off it. Nothing new there then. After making light work of maximum man Ding Junhui and Barry Hawkins in the opening two rounds, he then put Shuan Murphy to the sword in the semi-finals 6-2 before causing much hysteria in the crowd - and on social media - by claiming nobody can beat despite the fact he's going blind and has 'dodgy arms and bad knees'!

He saved his more aggressive side, however, for Ali Carter in the final as he roared back from 6-3 down to win seven of the next eight frames and become the oldest champion of the event at the age of 48 years and 40 days. Just like in the UK Championship, he still also remains the youngest winner of the event too but the headlines in the sports media focused around his war of words with Carter during the post-match interviews, which were pretty unpleasant to say the least. O'Sullivan let his snooker do the talking at the World Grand Prix and in the controversial event in Saudi Arabia to take his title tally for the season to five and although he was stunned by Mark Williams in the Tour Championship final, he's still highly fancied to win an eighth world title in May.

Ronnie O’Sullivan’s snooker records

• Joint most World Championships (7, equal with Stephen Hendry)
• Most UK Championships (8)
• Most Masters titles (8)
• Most Triple Crowns (23)
• Most Ranking titles (41)
• Most centuries (1,260)
• Most maximum breaks (15)
• Fastest ever maximum break, 5 minutes 8 seconds in 1997 v Mick Price
• Oldest world champion (46 years, 148 days in 2022)
• Youngest UK champion (17 years, 1993)
• Oldest UK champion (47 years, 2023)
• Youngest Masters champion (19 years, 1995)
• Oldest Masters champion (48 years, 2024)
• Youngest ever ranking winner (17 years, 358 days – UK Championship, 1993)
• Most Crucible appearances (32* including this year)
• Most consecutive Crucible appearances (32* including this year)
• Most Crucible match wins (76 from 100 matches)
• Most Crucible centuries (203)
• Joint most Crucible 147s (3, level with Stephen Hendry)
• Second most total weeks as world number one (384, behind's Hendry's 471. Correct at April 15, 2024)
• Fifth longest single reign as world number one (106 weeks, behind Hendry's 418, Steve Davis' 365, Reardon's 312 and Selby's 215. Correct at April 15, 2024)

Ronnie's World Championship titles

• 2001, 18-14 v John Higgins
• 2004, 18-8 v Graeme Dott
• 2008, 18-8 v Ali Carter
• 2012, 18-11 v Ali Carter
• 2013, 18-12 v Barry Hawkins
• 2020, 18-8 v Kyren Wilson
• 2022, 18-13 v Judd Trump

Ronnie's UK Championship titles

• 1993, 10-6 v Stephen Hendry
• 1997, 10-6 v Stephen Hendry
• 2001, 10-1 v Ken Doherty
• 2007, 10-2 v Stephen Maguire
• 2014, 10-9 v Judd Trump
• 2017, 10-5 v Shaun Murphy
• 2018, 10-6 v Mark Allen
• 2023, 10-7 v Ding Junhui

Ronnie's Masters titles

• 1995, 9-3 v John Higgins
• 2005, 10-3 v John Higgins
• 2007, 10-3 v Ding Junhui
• 2009, 10-8 v Mark Selby
• 2014, 10-4 v Mark Selby
• 2016, 10-1 v Barry Hawkins
• 2017, 10-7 v Joe Perry
• 2024, 10-7 v Ali Carter

Related snooker links

• Watch: World Championship preview show
• World Championship draw and results
• Top 16 player profiles for 2024 World Championship
• History of snooker's number ones
• Ronnie O'Sullivan's maximum breaks
• Watch all the Crucible 147 breaks
• History of 147 breaks
• Snooker's GOAT: O'Sullivan by the numbers
• O'Sullivan: One of a kind
• Ronnie on the unbreakable record
• Best players never to win the world title
• Crucible memories: Ronnie's finest hour
• Crucible memories: Higgins denies Trump
• Crucible memories: White a People's Champion
• Crucible memories: Johnson stuns Davis
• Crucible memories: Foulds' dream debut