They said I was too quick, too raw, too unpredictable. But the truth is… I was just being me. I wasn’t born to crawl through frames, I was born to run through them. Snooker wasn’t a game to me β€” it was freedom, it was escape, it was survival. From a boy with a cue in his hand, to a man standing under the lights of the Crucible, I only ever had one gear: full speed ahead. At 17, I won my first ranking title β€” a kid with a fearless heart, taking down men twice my age. They called me a prodigy, but really, I was just a lad chasing peace in the chaos of life. By 21, I had a World title. By 30, they were already whispering the word: legend. But legends don’t come easy. Behind the centuries and the titles were demons β€” pressure, mistakes, battles with myself. Yet every time I thought I was finished, the table called me back. They call me β€œThe Rocket” β€” and not just for speed. For the fire. For the way I lit up the game, made it feel dangerous, electric, alive. I didn’t just win frames, I rewrote what snooker could be. Seven World Championships, eight Masters, eight UKs. 41 ranking titles. 1,200 centuries. 15 maximums. Numbers that will outlive me. But here’s the truth: the trophies are heavy, but it’s the moments that matter. The gasps when I clear the table in minutes. The silence before the final black. The roar when it drops. That’s why I play. That’s why I fight. At 40, people said my best years were behind me. At 47, I lifted my seventh World crown. And I thought: let them talk. Because I’m not just playing matches, I’m writing chapters in history. So if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: greatness isn’t about being perfect. It’s about daring to be yourself, every single shot. I played fast, I played free, I played with my soul. And that’s why, when the dust settles, they’ll remember me. Not just as a champion. Not just as a legend. But as Ronnie O’Sullivan β€” the Rocket who changed the game forever.”

August 26, 2025 Gistblogger 0

  They said he was too quick, too raw, too unpredictable. But Ronnie O’Sullivan never set out to play the game by anybody else’s rules. […]