By Elliott West
“The best player I have ever seen”.
Ray Reardon
Introduction
Ronnie O’Sullivan is undoubtedly the most successful snooker player in the modern era of snooker. A winner of 40 ranking titles including seven world championships, Ronnie is the benchmark in snooker who every snooker player aspires to. Controversial and plain speaking, O’Sullivan is someone who has never been frightened to speak his mind, with views that always grab a media headline and are guaranteed to upset a number of colleagues and fans as a result. Yet behind this recognised champion, lies a complex individual who has wrestled with his inner demons, struggled with fame, and mental health, and leaned on alcohol and drugs in his past.
“I’ll pot a few balls, get paid, it’s just become like an emotionless-type job. I just make it work for me”.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Stays in the Priory Clinic reveal a fragile Ronnie, someone who was left with a void in his life when his father Ronnie Senior temporarily departed his life when he was sent to jail for a life sentence for the murder of Bruce Bryan, a driver for the gangster Charlie Kray in a Chelsea nightclub. A father who served 18 years in prison and someone who made a fortune from a chain of sex shops in Soho. His mother Marie was also jailed for a year for tax evasion.
The Man Himself
If you had the combination lock number to Ronnie O’Sullivan’s brain, you would discover, a typhoon of emotions, a fragile soul who is actually humble and funny when he is off camera. A gentle soul who wept when he broke down in tears after winning his seventh world title and someone who loves and respects his friends. Ronnie loves to cast off the shackles of snooker when he can, pouring his soul into a long run or just relaxing on his sofa all day, watching box sets. Happy when he visits his friends in China or shares a meal in a Turkish restaurant.
The Reardon Effect
Ray Reardon not only became a mentor for this snooker legend but also showed him what was missing in his game. He taught him to become hungry and ruthless, stamping on his opponents with a concrete slab until they surrendered. A former six times world champion who showed him that a match wasn’t over until the last ball was potted and all that mattered was the world championship titles. An adopted father figure who halted the car crash in O’Sullivan’s life and made him focused
Ray first saw Ronnie play when he was fifteen, playing at Butlin’s in Bognor Regis. He instantly saw the outstanding ability that he had then and was amazed when he actually worked with him, how great he actually was. This a player who Ray credits as giving him a new purpose in life and adding ten valuable years to it. Ray made Ronnie impregnable, not surprising coming from a former professional who ruled the roost in the 1970s and someone Les Dodd called ‘The Governor’.
Ray loved the experience and said that O’Sullivan was born to be a snooker king, in his rightful place and the greatest ever. A man who Ronnie deeply loves, someone who he loves to pieces.
The Dark Times
Remember the scratches on his face, the towel on his face, upsetting Alain Robidoux for playing left-handed, or criticising Peter Ebdon for his slow and methodic play. It didn’t take a lot to push Ronnie over the edge. These were times when O’Sullivan was happy to run away from the arena and hide in a dark room. He wasn’t in love with snooker, an antithesis to the fans who worshipped him. The cameras and journalists were following his every move and waiting for his next moment of madness.
This must have been excruciating for Ronnie, a player whose name so many fans chant when he plays and causes an iron weight to be placed on his shoulders. A phenomenon that still follows him even in the later part of his career. It doesn’t abate but just keeps fizzing at the same uncontrollable speed, a vehicle that brings applause and tears.
The Silver Years
“One day I’ll wake up and get excited and play a good tournament, but if I don’t I don’t really care anymore”.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Although Ronnie O’Sullivan will always remain a crowd-puller, he has now adopted a different take on competing. He can accept the defeats, is inspired when the occasion is right as was the case in the recent revival of the Hong Kong Masters but still remains happy when he is amongst friends working for the Eurosport team. This is a man who has won everything and still has all his trophies and medals, dating back to his junior days in a cabinet in his front room.
“I’ll pot a few balls, get paid, it’s just become like an emotionless-type job. I just make it work for me”.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
He recently said he had fallen out of love again, a statement that probably has an element of truth in it. Ronnie still suffers from his nerves before a match and hates the build-up. He says that he doesn’t care anymore and quit snooker mentally eight years ago, saying it is not worth the stress and hassle. This holder of 21 Triple Crown titles, claims that the game now makes him numb and emotionless, getting no joy from playing.
Yet his inner emotions are outweighed by his stardom. It seems unlikely that O’Sullivan will be walking away from snooker anytime soon. He may even surpass Fred Davis if he continues until old age. A snooker meteorite who will glow and burn for many years on the green baize, a player who is revered and applauded wherever he goes a snooker titan who holds the highest crown, and someone that I am baffled that he has never won BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
