M
SM

Ronnie O'Sullivan - his career ups and downs

"The Rocket" has endured mixed fortunes during an eventful career to date.
PA | 17h

Ronnie O'Sullivan's eventful career took a turn for the worse when he made a shock exit from the World Snooker Championship at the hands of amateur James Cahill.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a look at the highs and lows for a man who had always commanded attention since he burst on to the scene as a teenager.

The Highs

First UK title

Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Stephen Hendry when he was still a teenager (Rebecca Naden/PA

Teenager O'Sullivan, who had already made his first competitive 147-break as a 15-year-old at the English Amateur Championship, announced himself in earnest as he won the first of his record seven UK Championship titles to date in 1997. He beat Stephen Hendry 10-6 in the final at Preston's Guild Hall to become the youngest winner of a ranking event and 17 years and 358 days.

On top of the world

Ronnie O' Sullivan, back, beat John Higgins in the World Snooker Championship in 2001 (Rui Vieira/PA)

Four years on, the first of his five world crowns arrived as he defeat John Higgins 18-14 in the final at the Crucible in Sheffield. O'Sullivan took a 10-6 lead into the second day of the match and although nerves played their part in a tense conclusion, he prevailed to get his hands on the trophy.

A 1,000th century break

Ronnie O'Sullivan scored his 1,000th century break in Preston (John Walton/PA)

The man nicknamed "The Rocket" for his explosive style of play wrote himself into the record books in March this year when he became the first player to register a 1,000 century breaks. He reached four figures – he potted the decisive red left-handed for good measure – during his 10-4 final victory over Neil Robertson at the Coral Players Championship in Preston.

The Lows

Drugs shame

Ken Doherty was named champion after O'Sullivan was stripped of his title (Sean Dempsey/PA)

O'Sullivan has battled drink, drugs and depression during his career, but one of his lowest moments came when he was stripped of his 1998 Irish Masters title after testing positive for cannabis. He also forfeited his £61,000 prize money as beaten finalist Ken Doherty was named champion following a disciplinary committee hearing.

Walk-out in York

Ronnie O'Sullivan walked out of a match at the 2006 World Championship (Alistair Wilson 50/50/PA)

O'Sullivan stunned both opponent Hendry and the crowd at York's Barbican Centre when he walked out of his 2006 UK Championship quarter-final clash with the Scot after "a bad day in the office". Trailing 4-1, he conceded the match and left the table, later apologising to Hendry for his behaviour, for which he was ultimately fined.

From rude to lewd

Ronnie O'Sullivan had to apologise for comments made during a tournament in China (Rebecca Naden/PA)

The Rocket was fined and docked ranking points after making lewd comments during an interview after losing to Marco Fu at the China Open in 2008. He later apologised and offered to stay away from tournaments if anyone was offended by his remarks.



amp_article_357094 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2019-04-23 15:00:09:
html db last update - 2019-04-24 07:13:43 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Share this article now:

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Snooker's greatest shocks after James Cahill beats Ronnie O'Sullivan
Result: Barcelona on brink of title after Alaves win
Shane Long makes Premier League history with goal after 7.69 seconds
O'Sullivan admits to feeling "absolutely exhausted" after Crucible shock

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool35277179205988
2Manchester CityMan City34282487226586
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs352311165353070
4Chelsea35207859382167
5Arsenal34206868432566
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd34197863481564
7Watford35148135050050
8Everton35147145044649
9Leicester CityLeicester35146154847148
10Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34139124142-148
11West Ham UnitedWest Ham35127164454-1043
12Crystal Palace35126174348-542
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle35118163544-941
14Bournemouth35125184962-1341
15Burnley35117174462-1840
16Southampton35910164158-1737
17Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton3597193254-2234
18Cardiff CityCardiff3594223065-3531
RFulham3565243376-4323
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield3535272069-4914
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Select and display your favourite team's news and scores in this panel
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool35277179205988
2Manchester CityMan City34282487226586
3Tottenham HotspurSpurs352311165353070
4Chelsea35207859382167
5Arsenal34206868432566
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd34197863481564
7Watford35148135050050
8Everton35147145044649
9Leicester CityLeicester35146154847148
10Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34139124142-148
11West Ham UnitedWest Ham35127164454-1043
12Crystal Palace35126174348-542
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle35118163544-941
14Bournemouth35125184962-1341
15Burnley35117174462-1840
16Southampton35910164158-1737
17Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton3597193254-2234
18Cardiff CityCardiff3594223065-3531
RFulham3565243376-4323
RHuddersfield TownHuddersfield3535272069-4914
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.