A feat in sport is close and in Spain only a few crazy people know it. It is as if a tennis player could win all four Grand Slams in the same year, analyzes Fran Sanchez, Spanish billiards player and Eurosport commentator. All the stars have aligned, it is going to be above everything we have experienced, he adds. Sergio Gutirrez, network narrator. Today the snooker World Cup begins in Sheffield, England, and the English Ronnie O’Sullivan It is located a few plays from Olympus. This year he has already lifted the United Kingdom Championship and The Masters and he only has the planetary title left to complete his first Triple Crown and confirm himself – if there was any doubt – as the best in history.
The challenge itself is already attractive: a player can win it all, it has only happened four times before, the last in 2002. But with O’Sullivan the attention multiplies. Why?
In 2012, before turning 40 – he is now 48 -, that is, at the peak of his career, O’Sullivan got tired of dominating the circuit and went to work as a volunteer on a pig farm. He was great because there was no pressure. When he was there taking care of the pigs he had to put me in the mud and it stunk, he confessed years later. The experience sums up the character. In the United Kingdom his figure is compared to Michael Jordan, Novak Djokovic o Lewis Hamilton, but it doesn’t have much to do with them. Most sports legends have always wanted to be, they have dedicated their entire lives to achieving glory. O’Sullivan, a genius with the cue, has done it at times.
Ronnie’s motivation
With a father imprisoned for murder, at 17 he was already invincible at the table, but he became hooked on everything addictive – alcohol, drugs – and that hindered his career. Between titles and more titles, like his seven World Cup wins (2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2020, 2022), he has gone through rehabilitation programs, depressive episodes and several gambling crises. In the upcoming World Cup, in fact, his biggest rival will be himself.
O’Sullivan is a special player, the best ever, but sometimes he is motivated and sometimes he is not. There are tournaments in which he has played poorly because of that. I don’t think he will pass in the World Cup, especially with the Triple Crown at stake, but who knows. What is clear is that if he flows it is difficult for them to beat him,” analyzes Sánchez, a pool professional, who will comment on the start of the World Cup.
O’Sullivan doesn’t make his debut until next Wednesday, but this weekend the Belgian will be in action Luca Brecelcurrent champion, and on Monday the gals will debut Mark Williams, who won the final in the last tournament played. If there are no surprises, the three should meet in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final in the first week of May.
O’Sullivan has always been an eccentric genius, but in recent years he has worked hard. I am convinced that we will see the best version of him, although he also believed it last year, when he was more calm and serious than ever and disappeared in the quarterfinals. With him you never know, adds journalist Sergio Gutirrez, with some uncertainty.
Way to retreat?
Because on the verge of 50, O’Sullivan’s retirement is always a close possibility – he has already threatened several times – and if he lifts the Triple Crown it will be difficult for him to find reasons to continue playing. He is the player with the most major titles and if he wins his eighth World Cup he would break the equality with Stephen Hendry, another legend. His rivalry with Williams or the Scots John Higgins, the two of his family, 49 years old, was an incentive, but it is not so much anymore and there are not many young people who will retain him. Many of the twenty-somethings in the World Cup squad, in fact, are Chinese players like Si Jiahui, Lyu Haotian o Pang Junxu with whom he barely has a relationship.
Now you no longer have to prove anything and just continue playing if you feel like it. Traveling so much always takes its toll, but maybe it will last a few more years, analyzes Sánchez. There are rumors of withdrawal, but I don’t believe them. Money from Saudi Arabia is pouring into snooker and O’Sullivan has signed to play a tournament there over the next three years. He is getting paid like never before and he is delighted with it, concludes Gutirrez.