Ronnie O'Sullivan News
5 May 2008: Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the world championship
Ronnie O'Sullivan capped a terrific fortnight by beating Ali Carter 18-8 in the final of the world championships.
April 2008: Ronnie O'Sullivan hits a masterful maximum
Ronnie O'Sullivan made it look easy as it took him just eight minutes and 47 seconds to compile a masterful 147 to help secure a 13-7 victory over Mark Williams.
Ronnie O'Sullivan will pick up a prize of £157,000 as long as nobody else gets a maximum break in the tournament [editor's note: Ali Carter got a maximum almost immediately afterwards!], and he told the BBC:
"Obviously it's more important to win the game but that money gives me a few options in the summer. I'll be getting a Bentley Convertible now - I've been dying to get one!"
January 2008: Ronnie O'Sullivan loses in first round
Stephen Maguire got revenge for his defeat by O'Sullivan in the UK Championship by beating him in the first round of the Masters with a nail-biting 6-5 victory.
December 2007: Ronnie O'Sullivan wins UK Championship
Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Stephen Maguire 10-2 to take the UK Championship.
It was Ronnie O'Sullivan's first title since the Irish Masters in March 2005 and his first ranking title in nearly three years.
December 2007: Ronnie O'Sullivan hits maximum to reach UK Championship final
Ronnie O'Sullivan came back from 3-0 down to beat Mark Selby in the UK Championship semi-final and in the final frame he hit a 147 to win 9-8
The BBC reported how Ronnie O'Sullivan counted spots on a spoon to stay focussed.
May 2007: Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out of the World championship
Ronnie O'Sullivan's lost 13-9 to an in-form John Higgins in the quarter-finals of the 2007 snooker world championship.
March 2007: Ronnie O'Sullivan loses in semi-final of the China Open
Graeme Dott beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in the semi-final of the China Open 6-2.
The BBC reported that Dott said of Ronnie O'Sullivan: "He seemed to want to make a 147 every time he got to the table."
March 2007: Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the Kilkenny Irish Masters
Ronnie O'Sullivan won the final of the Irish Masters against Barry Hawkins 9-1 to take the Paul Hunter Trophy.
He finished off with a 138 clearance and a break of 80.
February 2007: Ronnie O'Sullivan: "I'm going to rip my game apart"
The BBC has a very interesting article about Ronnie O'Sullivan's determination to improve his game. It is reminiscent of the thought process of Tiger Woods when he wanted to change his swing.
The BBC reports O'Sullivan as saying:
"I'm not being big-headed but I can win events playing at 60% ... I can cover up problems with instinctive snooker but that's no good to me.
"Over the next 18 months I'm going to rip my game apart.
" ... this is something that's got to be done and that's why I'm working with someone to get it done. If I mess my game up and can't pot a ball so be it. In my mind I've got nothing to lose.
"I need to be more machine-like and that's why I'm concentrating on my technique. I want something to fall back on if things go wrong."
January 2007: Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the Masters
Ronnie O'Sullivan was back in winning form as he beat Ding Junhui in the final of the Masters 10-3.
December 2006: Ronnie O'Sullivan walks out of the UK Championship
Ronnie O'Sullivan walked out of his UK Championship quarter-final against Stephen Hendry. O'Sullivan was trailing 4-1 when he conceded the match after missing a red. Hendry was awarded a 9-1 win.
The BBC has a full report includiing Ronnie O'Sullivan's statement.
April 2006: Ronnie O'Sullivan loses to Dott in semi-finals of the world championships
It had not been easy for Ronnie O'Sullivan to reach the semi-finals and he admitted before the match against Dott that he was probably less confident of becoming the world champion than the other three semi-finalists.
O'Sullivan's battling display to defeat Mark Williams 13-11 in the quarter finals came on top of a close contest against Ryan Day, which he eventually won 13-10.
But, O'Sullivan's form continued to be patchy in the semi-final and Graeme Dott was able to seal a 17-11 victory.
August 2005: Ronnie O'Sullivan wins fifth title of the season
Ronnie O'Sullivan won his fifth title of the season with a 6-0 victory over Mark Williams in the final of the Betfred.com Premier League.
It was his fifth title of the season having already won the Grand Prix, the Welsh Open, the Wembley Masters and the Irish Masters.
Ronnie O'Sullivan also headed the 2005 snooker prize money list with over £380,000.
28 April 2005: O'Sullivan in shock defeat
Defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan lost 13-11 to Peter Ebdon in the quarter-final of the World Championships.
O'Sullivan started the evening session 10-6 up but was obviously troubled by Ebdon's painstaking approach.
When Peter Ebdon took three minutes over a shot, O'Sullivan asked a spectator what the time was. When Ebdon took five minutes to compile a break of 12, O'Sullivan burst into laughter.
Peter Ebdon is an extraordinarily determined character and his tenacious approach paid off. In the first round of the tournament Ronnie O'Sullivan only just managed to beat rising star, Stephen Maguire in what was a classic contest, with both players playing a great game.
It is normally Maguire that is O'Sullivan's bete-noir and if Maguire can just add a little more of Ebdon's ruthless focus then there is no doubt that he will follow in Ronnie's footsteps and become a great snooker world champion in the years to come.
20 February 2005: Brilliant O'Sullivan wins The Masters
Ronnie O'Sullivan achieved a magnificent 10-3 victory over John Higgins in the Masters final, with breaks of 107, 102, 134, 58, 97, 79, 75, and 79.
Ronnie O'Sullivan said: "That's probably as well as I've ever played."
Beaten finalist John Higgins agreed: "He's playing to a standard we've probably not seen in the game before."
We are coming to a crucial period for snooker. On the one hand there are the exciting players around, old and new. Ronnie O'Sullivan himself has touted the claims of Stephen Maguire and Ding Junhui to be future world champions; and it seems as if quality snooker will be around for awhile.
But whilst the quality of snooker play looks healthy, what about the future of the sport? Ronnie O'Sullivan has criticised, for example, the snooker schedule with its long gaps, and individual events like the Premier League. Meanwhile prize money has plummeted and the snooker governing body had a period of mismanagement. It now remains to be seen if the BBC will renew its contract that expires in the middle of 2006.
For all our sakes let's hope they do. Otherwise we could have the ridiculous situation of the golden age of snooker play being witnessed by a small handful of people like me who watch the likes of Pool's Mosconi Cup!