Ronnie O'Sullivan's Biography
Who is Ronnie O'Sullivan?
Ronnie "The Rocket" O'Sullivan was born on December 5, 1975 in Wordsley, West Midlands.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 first 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."
In November 2010, Ronnie O'Sullivan said after his father had been released from prison:
"I am delighted to be reunited with my dad after so long ... He has repeatedly expressed how sorry he is to the victim's family and to the authorities."
Ronnie O'Sullivan 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.
In May 2012, Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Ali Carter 18-11 to win his fourth World Championship title.
The following year, Ronnie O'Sullivan with World Championship Trophy 2013 retained the crown, winning his fifth World Championship with an 18-12 victory over Barry Hawkins.
In October 2013, he released a new autobiography, entitled Running.
In the same year he got engaged to Laila Rouass.
His previous relationships included with Sally Magnus with whom he had a daughter Taylor-Ann; and Jo Langley with whom he had two children Lily and Ronnie Jnr.
In January 2014, Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Masters, defeating Mark Selby 10-4 in the final.
A few months later, he beat Ding Junhui in the Welsh Open final, finishing in style with a maximum 147 break in the final frame including potting the final black left-handed.
On 17 January 2016 after a spell away from snooker competition, Ronnie O'Sullivan won the final of the Masters, beating Barry Hawkins 10-1.
On 4 December 2016, Ronnie O'Sullivan was beaten by Mark Selby in the final of the UK Championships.
It was his third defeat in the final of a major event that season, having lost to Judd Trump at the European Masters and John Higgins at the Champion of Champions.
In January 2017, Ronnie O'Sullivan won his seventh Masters title beating Joe Perry 10-7 in the final.
In June 2017, O'Sullivan revealed that he had spent four to five days in hospital after a breakdown at the 2016 Snooker World Championships.
In October 2017, he won the English Open beating Kyren Wilson 9-2 in the final.
In December 2017, he won the UK Championships, in the process equalling Steve Davis' record of six UK titles and Stephen Hendry's record of 18 victories in 'Triple Crown' events - the UK and World Championships, and Masters.
In March 2018, Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Players Championship. It was his 33rd ranking title and his fifth of the season.
In October 2018, at the English Open, he hit his 15th maximum break of 147 of his career.
On 9 December 2018, Ronnie O'Sullivan won the UK Championship for a record seventh time. It was his 19th World, UK and Masters trophies - overtaking Stephen Hendry's record in the 'Triple Crown' events.
On 10 March 2019, Ronnie O'Sullivan made his 1000th century break. The next highest player in terms of centuries was Stephen Hendry with 775.
On 14 August 2020, he beat Mark Selby 17-16 and reached a World Championship final against Kyren Wilson, which he then won 18-8. It was his sixth World Championship title.
In February 2021, Ronnie O'Sullivan beat Barry Hawkins in the Players Championship to equal Stephen Hendry's record of 57 ranking event finals.
On 2 May 2022, he won his seventh World Championship, beating Judd Trump 18-13, thereby equalling Stephen Hendry's record.
In 2023, he won his fourth straight Shanghai Masters title.
In November 2023, the revealing documentary Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything was released.
On 3 December 2023, Ronnie won his eighth UK Championship, becoming the oldest person to hold the title. He was already the youngest to do so!
Just over a month later, on 13 January 2024, he achieved the same feat at the Masters when he beat Ali Carter in the final 10-7.
His winning run continued when he beat Judd Trump in the final of the World Grand Prix.
News
On 30 December 2015, it was announced that Ronnie O'Sullivan had been awarded a OBE for services to snooker.
Back to Top
