Player Profile - Ronnie O'Sullivan
DOB: 05 Dec 1975
Lives: Chigwell, Essex
Provisional Ranking: 1st (Main Tour) Ranking Points this Season
Last 5 Seasons: 5-3-1-1-3
Turned Pro: 1992
Ranking Tournament Victories: 20 - UK Championship 1993, 1997, 2001, 2007; British Open 1994; Asian Classic 1996; German Open 1996; Scottish Open 1998, 2000; China Open 1999, 2000; World Championship 2001, 2004, 2008; European Open 2003; Irish Masters 2003, 2005; Welsh Open 2004, 2005; Grand Prix 2004
Last Seasons Prize Money: £288,500
Career Prize Money: (up to start of 2007/08 season): £5,161,560
Highest Tournament Break: 147 - nine times

O’Sullivan produced his dazzling best at last season’s SAGA Insurance Masters, snooker’s most prestigious invitation tournament.
Wins over Ali Carter, Ken Doherty and Stephen Maguire put the Rocket through to his fourth consecutive final in the Wembley event, which always brings him vibrant support from his London fans.
He then gave a glorious display of break-building to beat Ding Junhui 10-3, compiling runs of 55, 99, 128, 101, 58, 116, 96, 66, 143 and 74. He was also widely credited for his sportsmanlike display as he comforted a visibly upset Ding towards the end of the match.
Indeed he spent most of his post-final press conference singing the praises of the Chinese star. "I’m so happy that snooker has found a prodigy," said O’Sullivan. "I looked the word up in the dictionary the other day. It said someone of great talent and magic ability – I thought of Ding.
"If he carries on improving and gets a few more bits to his game he will be a multiple World Champion. Tennis has Federer, golf has Tiger Woods, Ding could do the same to snooker."
As for his own performance he added: "The balls were going in the holes but I wasn’t in full control. I was having to hit the ball a little bit harder and wasn’t able to create the angles to make this game feel as easy as I possibly can.”
O’Sullivan also continued his recent dominance in the invitational Premier League, beating Jimmy White 7-0 in Wythenshawe to win the final without conceding a frame for the third consecutive year. He has won the event six times since 1997.
The Essex player added a third invitation event, the Kilkenny Masters where he made an unofficial 147 break and hammered Barry Hawkins 9-1 in the final.
However, it was a dry season for O’Sullivan in terms of ranking silverware and he has not picked up a ranking title since the Irish Masters in March 2005.
His only final was at the Northern Ireland Trophy, where he lost 9-6 to Ding in Belfast, and he also reached the semi-finals of the Honghe Industrial China Open.
He added another chapter to his history of controversial incidents at the Maplin UK Championship when he walked out of his quarter-final against Stephen Hendry midway through the sixth frame, trailing 4-1 in the best-of-17 contest. O’Sullivan was later fined a total of £20,800 and docked 900 ranking points by the WPBSA Disciplinary Committee.
He was rated bookmakers’ favourite for the 888.com World Snooker Championship, especially after coming through tough opening ties against Ding and Neil Robertson. But eventual winner John Higgins proved too strong in the quarter-finals, scoring a 13-9 victory. “My technique let me down,” said O’Sullivan. “I wasn’t able to get the long balls but I still had to go for them – I still had to play my game. I wasn’t able to compete in the safety department. I tried to make something happen but it never did – that’s the way things go.”
Snooker’s most naturally gifted player, O’Sullivan has won 18 ranking titles – only Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis have won more. He has twice been world champion – in 2001 when he beat Higgins 18-14 in the Crucible final and 2004 when he easily saw off Graeme Dott 18-8.
But snooker is not just about titles to the Rocket – he is a great entertainer and has brought joy to his millions of fans with his fluent, attacking style of play and breath-taking skill.
Blessed with the rare gift of being able to play to a high standard both left-handed and right-handed, he has made the five fastest 147s on record and is the only player to make two maximums at the Crucible.
His hobbies include playing golf and football and he has played for the Arsenal celebrity team as well as joining the likes of Robbie Williams and Paul Gascoigne in the Soccer Aid project which raised money for UNICEF.
He is a keen and competitive long distance runner with a best time of under 37 minutes for 10km.
O’Sullivan and partner Jo have a daughter called Lily, born in February 2006, and a son born in June 2007.

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