page_title: Ronnie O'Sullivan
section_title: Career summary
hierarchical_section_title: Ronnie O'Sullivan / Career summary
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Bild aufgenommen in Berlin während der German Masters im Snooker 2012. Ronnie O’Sullivan. English: Picture taken in Berlin during the Snooker German Masters in 2011. Ronnie O’Sullivan.
context_page_description: Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan OBE is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport.
  Since turning professional in 1992, O'Sullivan has won six World Championships, a record seven Masters titles, and a record seven UK Championships for a record total of 20 titles in Triple Crown tournaments. One of 11 players to win a career Triple Crown, O'Sullivan holds the all-time record for the most ranking titles with 37. He broke the record he shared with Stephen Hendry by winning the 2020 World Snooker Championship. He also holds the record of being the youngest winner of a ranking title, winning the 1993 UK Championship aged 17 years and 358 days, as well as being the youngest winner of the Masters in 1995, at 19 years and 69 days old. He won 38 consecutive matches in ranking events after turning professional, which is also a record. He is the only player to win ranking events in four separate decades 90's, 00's, 10's and the 20's. He has earned career prize money of over £11 million, the highest amount of any snooker player.
context_section_description: O'Sullivan began playing snooker at age 7 and soon became a noted amateur competitor, winning his first club tournament at age 9, making his first competitive century break at age 10, and winning the British Under-16 Championship at age 13. At the 1991 English Amateur Championship, at the age of 15 years and 98 days, he made his first competitive maximum break, then the youngest player ever to do so in a recognised tournament. In the same year, he won the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship and Junior Pot Black.
  After turning professional in 1992 at the age of 16, he won 74 of his first 76 qualifying matches, including a record 38 consecutive professional victories. He qualified for the televised stages of the World Championship in his first professional season, making his Crucible debut on 18 April 1993, aged 17 years and 134 days. He remains the third youngest player ever to compete at the venue, behind Luca Brecel and Stephen Hendry. He claimed his first ranking title later that year, winning the 1993 UK Championship seven days before his 18th birthday to become the youngest ever winner of a ranking tournament, a record he still holds. The following season, he won the 1995 Masters aged 19 years and 69 days. He remains the youngest ever Masters champion.
  Between 1996 and 1999, O'Sullivan reached three world semifinals in four years. At the 1997 World Championship, he achieved his first maximum break in professional competition; compiled in a time of 5 minutes and 8 seconds, it remains the fastest competitive maximum break in snooker history. He won his second 1997 UK Championship later that year. Despite these successes, his career became increasingly marred by controversy in the later 1990s. During the 1996 World Championship, he assaulted assistant press officer Michael Ganley, for which the WPBSA gave him a suspended two-year ban and a £20,000 fine. After winning the 1998 Irish Masters, he was stripped of his title and prize money when a post-match drug test found evidence of cannabis in his system.
  He reached his first world final in 2001, where he defeated John Higgins 18–14 to claim his first world title and reach number two in the world rankings. He won his third UK title later in 2001, which helped him attain the world number one ranking for the first time in the 2002/2003 season. With veteran world champion Ray Reardon acting as his coach and mentor, he won his second world title in 2004, defeating Graeme Dott 18–8 in the final, after which he held the number one ranking for the next two seasons. He added his second Masters title in 2005, ten years after his first. However, his behaviour became notably erratic in the mid-2000s as he battled clinical depression. During the 2005 World Championship, he shaved his head mid-tournament and exhibited what The Independent called a "public emotional disintegration" while losing 11 of the last 14 frames in his quarterfinal against Peter Ebdon. At the 2005 UK Championship, he sat with a wet towel draped over his head during his match against Mark King. Trailing Hendry 1–4 in their best-of-17-frames quarterfinal at the 2006 UK Championship, he abruptly conceded the match during the sixth frame and left the arena. Hendry was awarded the match 9–1 and the WPBSA fined O'Sullivan £20,800 over the incident.
  In 2007, O'Sullivan won his third Masters title and his fourth 2007 UK Championship, his first ranking title in almost three years. He won his third world title in 2008, defeating Ali Carter 18–8 in the final, after which he held the world number one ranking for the next two seasons. He added his fourth Masters title in 2009. After two disappointing seasons that saw him fall out of the top ten in the world rankings, he began working with psychiatrist Steve Peters in 2011. A resurgent O'Sullivan captured his fourth World Championship in 2012, again defeating Carter in the final, after which he paid tribute to Peters's work with him. The following season, he took an extended break from the professional tour. Despite having played only one competitive match all season, he
caption: O'Sullivan with the trophy of the 2012 German Masters
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