Ronnie O’Sullivan is the greatest player in snooker history. The seventh world title, which he won on Monday evening by beating Judd Trump 18:13 in the final, would not have been necessary for this. But there would always have been experts, fans or colleagues who would have reminded us that Stephen Hendry had won that one more World Cup. That’s done now.

Ronnie O’Sullivan is more than just record world champion, as the player with the most wins in world ranking tournaments or the most maximum breaks. The 46-year-old Englishman is a great champion – and a great entertainer. His game inspires the masses more than anyone else’s game.

In addition, he polarizes with sometimes debatable views and strange behavior. In the World Cup final, for example, he had a heated debate with the referee – otherwise unthinkable in the gentleman sport of snooker. He also stunned the onlookers when he dug out a lighter and used it to burn off an offending fiber on his cue.

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When O’Sullivan was last world champion in 2020, it was a relatively fortunate win – especially in the semifinals against Mark Selby, when he hara-kiried 14-16 down and got through. The 2022 World Championship, on the other hand, saw one of the most dominant O’Sullivans of all time. In none of his matches was there a long question as to who would ultimately leave the table as the winner. The eventual winner was too enthusiastic, strong in battle and tactically adept – all of this combined is not always a matter of course at O’Sullivan.

Now he can not only call himself record champion, but is also the oldest world champion in history. He doesn’t seem to be thinking about retiring at the moment, and at the award ceremony he announced: “We’ll probably try again next year.” It’s not necessarily good news for his competition, but it’s the best possible news for all snooker fans . Because without Ronnie O’Sullivan, a World Cup would definitely be missing something.