The otherwise controlled Ronnie O’Sullivan shed a few tears before celebrating the most emotional moment of his snooker career with his family. It was the perfect setting for the Englishman, nicknamed “The Rocket”: First he had written a small piece of snooker history with his seventh world title at the Crucible Theater and thus caught up with Scotland’s legend Stephen Hendry.
Then he was proud to present the coveted silver trophy with his father Ronnie Senior, son Ronnie Junior and daughter Lily to the audience, who applauded him standing for minutes. “It was a beautiful moment and I’m really excited to be able to share it with my family,” said O’Sullivan, who, in addition to his seventh World Cup trophy, set another record: He is now the oldest world champion in the history of this Sports.
“I’m 46 and I’m playing against players in their early 20s. They push me to the max.” In the 17 days of Sheffield, the old and new world number one showed once again who is the boss in the ring.
The adversaries praised O’Sullivan to the skies. “We should all enjoy every second he’s here. He’s the undisputed greatest of all time in our game,” said Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen, who was clearly defeated in the direct World Cup duel. Final loser Judd Trump, who had almost no chance at 1:18 p.m. on Monday evening, also paid tribute to his English compatriot. “He’s just getting better and better. His dedication is great. He was the best player of this tournament by far.”
In all respects lonely class
In snooker, the so-called “Triple Crown” from World Cup, Masters and UK Championship is the measure of all things. Anyone who wins all three tournaments at least once is considered one of the greats. Fewer than a dozen players have managed to do this. O’Sullivan has now won all three tournaments seven times each. O’Sullivan also played a total of 15 centuries, breaks of 100 points or more, in his 30th consecutive World Championship. That too is lonely class.
Source: Nachrichten
