
Follow the White Ball: The torments of snooker’s greatest player - jonathansizz
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/03/30/follow-the-white-ball
======
sakri
I've been a fan since 1992. Possibly the most beautiful video for me on
youtube :

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpeBugHSCnU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpeBugHSCnU)

Ronnie O' Sullivan Fastest 147 in History - 5 minutes 20 seconds - 1997 World
Championship

(mostly because I watched it live, and still remember how it blew my mind,
still does)

~~~
coleifer
Absolutely incredible the suspense must've been crazy.

------
JacobAldridge
From a timing perspective, O'Sullivan lost overnight - knocked out in the
Quarter Finals of the World Championship.

"I'll go for a run in the morning and sparring in the afternoon. Life has to
go on and will go on."

[http://m.bbc.com/sport/snooker/32524542](http://m.bbc.com/sport/snooker/32524542)

~~~
corin_
Relevant quote from the article about a game 5 months ago:

> _In the semifinal, O’Sullivan found himself 4–1 down and on the brink of
> losing to Stuart Bingham, the ninth-ranked player in the world. “That was a
> match where I just thought, I’m not going to be pushed around by someone
> like Stuart,” O’Sullivan told me afterward. “I’m not ready to accept that
> role yet. I fucking hated that match.” He won, 6–5._

(Bingham being the same player who just beat him)

After this defeat it sounds like he's thinking of quitting again, but I
certainly wouldn't put money on him staying away.

~~~
ed0wolf
He always sounds like he's quitting the game.

~~~
corin_
That was my point. They said, one of these days he actually will quit for
good, but I hope not soon.

------
jonathonf
You could argue he's one of the greats. But the greatest?

"Many wonder whether O’Sullivan can equal Hendry’s record of seven world
titles and officially become, in his forties, the greatest player the game has
ever known."

Not yet.

~~~
jdietrich
When O'Sullivan is on form, he has an ease and fluency that no other player
can match. His maximum breaks are rightfully legendary, and give a glimpse of
his immense talent. O'Sullivan doesn't really compete against other players,
but against his own psyche; For this reason, he is both the most exciting and
the most frustrating player to watch.

~~~
jonathansizz
There was a nice passage describing O'Sullivan in an article [1] posted on
r/snooker recently:

"For years, the main frustration for the keen snooker fan was the apparently
immutable dichotomy between the monotonous winners and the flamboyant losers.
It seemed that we could either have the unflappable resolve of a Steve Davis
(six-time World Champ) or the charismatic fragility of a Jimmy White (six-time
runner-up), but we couldn't have both in one player. By only self-destructing
either before the start of a tournament or after winning one, O'Sullivan has
cleverly defied this convention. He doesn't fall apart in the crucial stages
of a match; he plays consistently throughout, either like the greatest player
in the world or only, say, the twelfth best. It all depends on which Ronnie
shows up."

[1] [http://www.ianbgibson.com/on-snooker](http://www.ianbgibson.com/on-
snooker)

------
gadders
As a Brit, it seems funny to see Ronnie O'Sullivan profiled in the New Yorker.
Who are they going to cover next? The Crafty Cockney? [1]

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bristow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Bristow)

~~~
thorin
I'd prefer Jockey Wilson.

~~~
gadders
I was going to suggest him, but he has the disadvantage of being dead.

------
jbrooksuk
> O’Sullivan is frequently described as a genius. But he does not see how this
> can be so.

Ah Imposter Syndrome, we meet again.

