A snooker prodigy from an early age, O'Sullivan made his first competitive century break at age 10, won the British Under-16 Championship at age 13, achieved his first competitive maximum break at age 15, and won the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship before turning professional in 1992, aged 16. He won his first ranking title at the 1993 UK Championship aged 17 years and 358 days, making him the youngest player to win a professional ranking event, a record he still holds. He is also the youngest player to win the Masters, which he first achieved in 1995, aged 19 years and 69 days.