Ronnie O'Sullivan's Biography
Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan was born on December 5, 1975 in Chigwell, Essex.
When he was 10, Ronnie O'Sullivan scored his first century break and at 15 he became the youngest player to make a maximum in tournament play.
Like Ken Doherty, O'Sullivan grew up playing in the clubs of Ilford and Barking. He admired Doherty and even modelled his cueing style on his for a while.
His parents have both served time. His mother, Maria, for tax evasion and his father, Ron, was sentenced to 18 years for murder. According to Ronnie O'Sullivan's autobiography:
"Dad and his mate were in a nightclub arguing over who should pay the bill. Then two black fellas, brothers who had been signed in that night by Charlie Kray, got the wrong end of the stick and thought Dad and his mate weren't going to pay. A row started. Dad said, "Let's talk about it", and walked round the bar, where one of the brothers picked up an ashtray and went to whack Dad over the head. Dad put up his hand, the ashtray smashed and two of his fingers were severed. The other fella then picked up a champagne bottle and smashed Dad over the head with it. Dad then picked up a knife that was on the side of the bar and that was it."
Ronnie O'Sullivan has has won over 30 titles including the 2001, 2004 and 2008 World Championships.
In February 2008, Ronnie O'Sullivan told BBC Five Live that he has found he can counter his depression by running:
"I have tried many, many things to combat my demons and running is the one thing that does it for me."
The 2008 world championship victory meant that Ronnie O'Sullivan joined Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams in winning the World Championship and the UK Championship as well as ranking number one in the same snooker season.
The Ronnie O'Sullivan News page has updates on his performance.
