Records, highlights and milestones

1. 1. 1. Became the youngest player to win a ranking event (17 years, 51 weeks) at the 1993 UK Championship.
      2. Quickest player to reach one hundred century breaks and £1million in prize money; then 200 century breaks and £2 million in prize money. Went over £3 million three seasons ago, £4 million two seasons ago – and over 300 centuries during 02/03.
      3. Compiler of fastest 147 in history at five minutes, 20 seconds – 1997 world championship in the first round against Mick Price.
      4. Holds record with 38 consecutive ranking event match wins – in fact his first 38 matches as a professional.
      5. Won world under 21 championship as a 15 year-old, compiled first century at 10, won his first pro-am at 12.
      6. Finally claimed world title his natural talent so richly deserves when he beat John Higgins 18-14 in 2001 final. In all, he captured six titles that season.
      7. Joined Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott and John Higgins as only the fifth player to complete the World and UK Championship double in the same year when he won his third UK Championship at York in December 2001.
      8. Played superbly to beat Stephen Hendry 9-6 in the final of the European Open in March 2003. He compiled the three highest breaks of the event, 142, 140 and 139. Then, in an equally high quality final he beat John Higgins 10-9 to become the Irish Masters champion and only the ninth player in the sport’s history to win back-to-back ranking events.
      9. In April 2003, during his first round defeat by Marco Fu in the Embassy, O’Sullivan became the first player to compile two 147’s at the Crucible. He also became the first player to make a maximum there and lose the match in question.
      10. In January 2004 rallied from 8-5 down to beat Steve Davis 9-8 in a gripping final of the Welsh Open in Cardiff then finished off the season in fine style by winning the Embassy World Championship.
      11. Ronnie has earned more prize money and made more century breaks in 2003/2004 & 2004/2005 seasons than anyone else.
      12. In October 2004 completed a clean sweep of ranking titles by winning the Totesport Grand Prix at Preston Guild Hall. He has now won every one of the eight world ranking tournaments currently on the calendar at least once.
      13. Won 2005 Masters ten years after capturing his first title at Wembley, finishing off with a 134 total clearance, then beat Matthew Stevens 10-8 in the final of the Irish Masters, clinching victory with a memorable 69 clearance to steal the closing frame on the black from 68 adrift.
      14. During the 2005 Irish Masters became only the second player, after Stephen Hendry, to construct 400 centuries in professional competition.
      15. During the Northern Ireland Trophy 2007 became the first player to win a best of 9 frame ranking match with 5 centuries including a 147.
      16. In the semi final of the UK Championships 2007 beat Mark Selby 9-8 with a 147 in the deciding frame.
      17. In his 2008 World Championship last 16 match against Mark Williams Ronnie compiled his record 9th 147.
      18. At the end of the 2007/8 season Ronnie became the first player to regain the World Number 1 spot for a third time
      19. In December 2008 Ronnie won the Premier League title for the 5th consecutive time, and the 8th in total, beating Mark Selby in the final 7-2.
      20. In January 2009 Ronnie broke Hendry’s record number of 41 centuries made in the Masters while playing Maguire in the Semi Final. He now holds the new record with 49 centuries in the competition against 43 to Hendry.
      21. In September 2010, during his World Open last 64 match against Mark King, Ronnie completed the tenth competitive 147 in his career, setting a new all time record.
      22. Ronnie O’Sullivan won the inaugural Power Snooker Tournament held at Indigo, the O2 Arena, London on 30 October 2010, beating Ding Junhui in the Final with a score of 572-258.
      23. In November 2010 Ronnie won the Premier League Snooker and set a new record: he became the only player to win a professional event 9 times, beating Steve Davis’s 8 Irish Masters wins.
      24. In November 2011 He bettered that record by bringing his Premier League tally to 10 titles.
      25. By winning the 2013 World Championship Ronnie became the first player to defend his World crown since Stephen Hendry in 1996. He joined Hendry and Davis in the exclusive club of players who did defend a World crown. The feat was all the more remarkable because he had only played, and lost, one competitive match all season, a low profile last 128 in a PTC. Ronnie also broke a few other records during that tournament: he bettered Hendry’s record of 127 centuries at the Crucible, bringing the new target to 131. He also became the only player to have compiled 6 centuries during a World Final.
      26. In his quarter finals match in the Masters 2014, Ronnie beat Ricky Walden 6-0 in 58 minutes and scored 556 unanswered points, a new record. He broke another record on the next day when he booked his place in the Final, his 10th in this tournament, more than anyone else (Stephen Hendry has 9 final appearances in The Masters). Ronnie then went on to win it.
      27. Ronnie made his 12th maximum break in the final frame, of the Final of the Welsh Open 2014, going one better than Stephen Hendry and setting up a new record. It was also the first time that a maximum break was made in the final frame of a ranking final.
      28. Ronnie made his 13th maximum break in the final frame of his last 16 match against Matthew Selt at the UK Championship 2014, bettering his own record.
      29. In the last frame of his first round match at the Masters 2015, on January 13, 2015, Ronnie made a 116, his 775 competitive century, equalling Stephen Hendry’s record. That was his birthday present to Stephen 😉 and the fact that it was aided by a massive fluke on the last yellow was the cherry on the cake … Two days later, he effectively broke the record when he made a 101 in the first frame of his QF match against Marco Fu. He won that match and by doing so he broke another record: it was Ronnie’s 43th win at the Masters, bettering Hendry’s 42.
      30. He reached the 800 career centuries mark, on January 5, 2016, during his last group phase match of the Group 1 of the Championship League Snooker 2016.
      31. On January 16, 2016, he played (and won) his 62th match at The Masters, a new record: Jimmy White was the previous holder with 61. On the next day, Ronnie joined Stephen Hendry on six Masters titles, 21 years after winning it for the first time as a teenager. At 40, he also became the second older winner after Ray Reardon who last won it at 43.
      32. On 21 February 2016, Ronnie won the Welsh Open, bringing his ranking events tally to 28, on par with Steve Davis and John Higgins, second only to Stephen Hendry. This was also his 4th Welsh Open title, sharing the record with Stephen Hendry and John Higgins.
      33. On 22 January 2017, Ronnie won the Masters for a record seventh time, one better than Stephen Hendry.
      34. On 10 December 2017, Ronnie won the UK Championship fot the sixth time, equalling Steve Davis record, and that brought his tally of majors – World Championship, UK Championship and Masters – to 18, equalling Stephen Hendry’s record.
      35. By winning the Players Championship on March 25, 2018, Ronnie bywinning five ranking events in one season, equalled the joint record held by Mark Selby, Ding Junhui and Stephen Hendry.
      36. On April 3, 2018 Ronnie made his 14th competitive maximum break in the last 64 round in the China Open 2018, setting a new record.
      37. On September 16, 2018, Ronnie won the Shanghai Masters 2018, setting several new records: he became the first player to defend that title, the first player to win it three times and the first snooker player to pass the £10000000 mark in career prize money. On September 15, 2019, he bettered that record by winning it three  times in a row, and a fourth time in total.
      38. Ronnie made the 15th maximum of his career on October 17, 2018, playing Allan Taylor in the last 64 of the 2018 English Open in Crawley. It was an absolutely beautiful break, The only difficulty came on the last blue when he had to take a thin cut to a centre pocket, coming in and out of baulk to keep position on the pink, and he played it to perfection.
      39. By defending his UK Championship crown on December 9, 2018, Ronnie broke several records: this was his 7th UK title, more than anyone else, and it brought his tally of “Triple Crowns” to 19, more than anyone else. It was also the first time anyone defended the UK crown since Stephen Hendry in 1996 and to do this 25 years after winning his first, then only 17 years old, is quite an extraordinary achievement.achieve this remarkable
      40. On March 10, 2019, Ronnie wrote history again by making the 1000th competitive century of his career, a 134. He’s the first player to achieve this remarkable feat. And he did it in style: indeed this was the final frame of the final of the 2019 Players Championship, Ronnie’s 35th ranking title.
      41. By winning the Tour Championship 2019, on March 24,2019, Ronnie equalled Stephen Hendry’s record of 36 ranking titles. He also went back to World n°1 for the first time since 2010.  This was all the more remarkable because he only played in half of the tournaments that season.
      42. On December 3, 2019, by reaching the last 16 of the 2019 UK Championship, Ronnie set a new record for most matches won in the tournament – 90 to Steve Davis’s 89
      43. On August 3, 2020 Ronnie set a new record for the fastest match at the Crucible. In the last 32, he beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh by 10-1 in just 108 minutes. The previous record was 149 minutes by Shaun Murphy, whitewasing Luo Hong Hao in round 1 in 2019.
      44. By winning the 2020 World Championship, on 16th of August 2020, Ronnie became the most prolific ranking events’ winner in snooker history with 37 titles, superseeding Stephen Hendry. He also holds the record of “most triple crowns” with 20 pieces: 6 Worlds, 7 Masters, 7 Uks.
      45. On April 1st, 2022, in the 2022 Tour Championship, Ronnie became the first player in snooker history to score 5 centuries in consecutive matches. He scored 5 against Mark Williams in the QFs and 5 against Neil Robertson in the SFs. Quite incredibly he lost that second match in the deciding frame!
      46. On April 23, 2022, Ronnie beat Mark Allen at the Crucible, establishing two more records: most matches won at the Crucible (71) and most appearances in the Quarters Finals (20). At that point in time Ronnie was also the holder of most matches won at the Masters, and most Matches won at the UK Championship. Two days later he also set a new record for most appearences in the Semi-final (13).
      47. On May 2, 2022, Ronnie became World Champion for the seventh time, equalling Stephen Hendry’s record. He also brough his tally of ranking titles to 39 (record), and his tally of “Triple crowns” to 21 (record): 7 Worlds, 7 Masters, 7 UK Championships. He also became the oldest ever snooker World Champion.
      48. During his second round match at the 2023 World Championship, Ronnie scored his 200th century at the Crucible, the 1200th of his career, and by winning that match, he reached his 100th match at the Crucible.
      49. On December 3, 2023, Ronnie won the UK Championship for the 8th time and became the youngest AND the oldest winner of the event.
      50. On January 14, 2024, Ronnie won the Masters for the 8th time and became the youngest AND the oldest winner of the event.

Big thank you to Phil Yates for originally collating the biography data shown on this page.

Page maintained by Monique Limbos.