Snooker legends ronnie osullivan biography

‘RONNIE O’SULLIVAN IS ONE OF TOP THREE GREATEST SPORTSMEN ALIVE’ – STEPHEN FRY PAYS ULTIMATE TRIBUTE TO SNOOKER GOAT

I just finished reading “Unbreakable” , Ronnie’s latest book, and I loved it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect TBH. I was afraid that there would be a lot in there that we, the fans who followed Ronnie’s career for years, already know. And, in a way there is, but the book still surprised me, agreeably.

In fact, this is not a sequel to the two previous autobiographies, it’s not an autobiography at all actually. It will not take you through what happened to Ronnie over the last ten years, nor will it it tell you what he won during the last decade, when or who he beat. It’s not that kind of book at all.

The book has 13 chapters, not counting the prologue and epilogue. Each chapter has a distinctive theme and, actually, you can read them independently, in no particular order. Each is about one subject that is important to Ronnie, as a person and or as a snooker player. I each, Ronnie reflects – in a very personal way – on why and how this particular theme is important to him, how it has impacted his life and changed him as a person. Here are some of the themes he reflects on: The Crucible (the venue, no the event), Snooker and his love for it, Being a child prodigy, Practice, his “Lost Years”, Accepting his addictions, Anxiety, what it takes to be a Winner, Family, Relationship with his children (with regrets and pride), his first and his latest World Championships …

It’s a – at times emotional – narration/reflection written at the first person. It’s easy to read and, at the same time, I often found myself thinking “Wait … I may want to read this again, tomorrow”. It’s a habit of mine, a few hours after reading something, to try and gather/structure my thoughts about what I did read and if I find it difficult,

Ronnie O'Sullivan: Delving into the snooker legend's pain in new Amazon doc The Edge of Everything

It's May 2022 and Ronnie O'Sullivan is sitting in his dressing room at The Crucible in Sheffield, on the verge of winning his seventh World Championship, a feat which will see him draw level with Stephen Hendry's record in the modern era and arguably cement his status as the greatest snooker player of all time.

But he can't face going back out to play.

"I feel like I've got stage fright," O'Sullivan tells his psychiatrist, Dr Steve Peters. "I feel like I want to cry. I don't even feel like I want to face it. I'm looking at my cue, I feel like my eyes are blurry."

The 46-year-old took an early lead in the final, but his younger opponent, Judd Trump, has just won six frames in an afternoon session to battle back to 14-11.

"I'm scared mate," says O'Sullivan.

This scene, from Sam Blair's new documentary, Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything - which streams on Amazon Prime from Thursday - illustrates some of the torture that snooker's most mercurial talent puts himself through for competition.

Ronnie 'The Rocket' O'Sullivan has won almost every major record in the game during a long and distinguished career, but his struggles with depression, alcohol and drugs are well documented.

Blair's film is a character study in addiction to snooker perfection as much as anything. It's a dependency that doesn't always seem healthy and O'Sullivan knows the "dark places" that "toxic competitiveness" can take him.

"Emotionally, it's got me involved again and I hate this," he says after that poor session against Trump.

Last week, on the eve of the documentary's release, O'Sullivan withdrew from the defence of his Champion of Champions title, citing the need to look after his mental hea

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Ronald Antonio “Ronnie” O’Sullivan

Date of Birth: December, 5, 1975

Lives in Chigwell, Essex.

Professional snooker player

Turned pro in 1992
Nickname: The Rocket
Plays for England

Professional career

  • Ronnie is a seven times World Champion. He has won 41 ranking titles, including 8 UK Championships, 3 minor ranking titles and 36 invitational professional tournaments, among them 8 Masters titles.
  • His entertaining, fast and attacking style of play earned him his nickname, The Rocket, and has endeared him to millions of fans around the world. The epitome of Ronnie’s game is probably the famous 147 that he completed in 5 minutes 20 seconds against Mick Price at the World Championship in 1997, the fasted maximum ever in snooker history.
  • Ronnie is considered by many fellow players, pundits and fans, to be the most naturally gifted player ever to grace snooker,  a “genius”. Seven times World Champion and most successful ever player Stephen Hendry has repeatedly branded him as the best player in the game.

Ranking Tournament Victories: 41

  • UK Championship 1993, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2023
  • British Open 1994
  • Asian Classic 1996
  • German Open 1996
  • Scottish Open 1998, 2000
  • China Open 1999, 2000
  • World Championship 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020,2022
  • European Open 2003; Irish Masters 2003, 2005
  • Welsh Open 2004, 2005, 2014, 2016
  • Grand Prix 2004
  • Northern Ireland Trophy 2008
  • Shanghai Masters 2009, 2017
  • German Masters 2012
  • English Open 2017
  • World Grand Prix 2018, 2021, 2024
  • Players Championship 2018, 2019
  • Tour Championship 2019

Minor Ranking Tournament Victories: 3

  • Players Tour Championship – Event 1 2011
  • Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy 2011
  • Paul Hunter Classic 2013

Invitational Tournaments 37

  • Nescafé Extra Challenge 1993
  • Benson and Hedge Championship 1993
  • The Masters 1995, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2024
  • Charity Challenge 1996, 2000 (then
  • Ronnie o'sullivan unbreakable release date
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