Damien Hirst Ronnie O'Sullivan | Net Worth | Wife
Professional Career Details:
Complications in his Career
During his career, O'Sullivan suffered from depression, mood swings, and drug misuse. Recognized as a contentious and transparent personality in the professional arena, he has faced criticism from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association multiple times due to his gestures and remarks. Apart from his playing career, he writes crime novels, memoirs, and a book on health and fitness and works as a critic for Eurosport's snooker coverage. In addition to highlighting his competition against pool hustlers in the United States in the 2017 miniseries "Ronnie O'Sullivan's American Hustle," he also starred in the 2023 documentary film "Ronnie O'Sullivan: The Edge of Everything." 2016 saw him receive an OBE.
Early stage career summary
- O'Sullivan began playing snooker at the tender age of 7 and quickly rose to become a renowned and skilled competitor. He won his first club tournament at the age of 9, crafted his first competitive century break at 10, and clinched the British Under-16 Championship at 13. At the English Amateur Championship in 1991, at just 15 years and 98 days old, he achieved his first competitive maximum break, becoming the youngest player ever to do so in a recognized tournament. That same year, he also won the IBSF World Under-21 Snooker Championship and the Junior Pot Black.
- Turning professional in 1992 at the age of 16, he won an astounding 74 out of his first 76 qualifying matches, including a record-breaking streak of 38 consecutive professional victories. Qualifying for the televised stages of the 1993 World Championship, he lost to Alan McManus in the Crucible debut by 7-10. Just seven days before his 18th birthday, in the final of the 1993 UK Championship, he defeated Hendry 10-6, claiming his first ranking title at the end of that year and becoming the youngest winner of any ranking event, a record he still holds. In the following season, at the age of 19 years and 69 days, he won the 1995 Masters, becoming the youngest Masters champion ever.
- Between 1996 and 1999, O'Sullivan reached three World Championship semi-finals within four years. In the 1997 World Championship, he achieved his first maximum break in professional competition. Compiled in a staggering 5 minutes and 8 seconds, it stands as the fastest competitive maximum break in snooker history, officially recognized by the Guinness World Records.
- Despite these successes, O'Sullivan's career was marred by controversies towards the end of the 1990s. He assaulted a press officer, resulting in a two-year suspended ban and a £20,000 fine imposed on him, during the 1996 World Championship. After winning the 1998 Irish Masters, his title and prize money were stripped when traces of cannabis were found in his system during a drug test conducted after the match. Afterwards, O'Sullivan acknowledged that he had continuously abused drugs and alcohol in the early years of his profession, which resulted in a stay in treatment for healing.
- After taking over the reins of World Snooker from Barry Hearn in 2010, O'Sullivan became a vocal critic of how Hearn reconfigured the professional tour. He raised issues regarding increased trip prospects, the preface of the flat 128- draw format, which needed top players to play further rounds against lower- ranked opponents, reduction in prize amount for maximum breaks, and dissatisfaction with event venues. He accused the snooker governing body, WPBSA, of intimidation and harassment, claiming that Hearn was running a "dictatorship," protested against what he perceived as mistreatment by snooker officials through robotic or monosyllabic responses in interviews, and refused opportunities for maximum breaks due to inadequate prize money. In 2018, he threatened to create a separate snooker tour akin to darts.
- During the 2020 World Championship, O'Sullivan publicly criticized the standards of upcoming players in snooker, stating that they would need to" lose an arm and a leg to fall out of the top 50." He also questioned event organizers' decision to allow fans into the final during the COVID- 19 affection.
- In 2021, in a podcast interview, O'Sullivan claimed that most snooker players had ruined their lives. He applied to snooker as a" bad game" that could create" a lot of damage," suggesting that exercising in dark, solitary climates could hamper players' particular development. He stated that if his own children chose to become snooker players, he would not support them, and if he could relive his sporting career, he would choose golf or Formula One over snooker.
Personal Life Summary:
- O'Sullivan was born on December 5, 1975, in Wordsley, West Midlands, to Ronald John and Maria (née Catalano) O'Sullivan, the son of parents who ran sex shops in the Soho area of London. His mother originally hails from Sicily, and O'Sullivan spent his childhood holidays in the village near Agriento, where he grew up. He was raised in Essex, on Manor Road in Chigwell, where he still resides.
- Ronnie has three children: a daughter named Taylor-Ann (born 1997) from a two-year relationship with Sally Magnus, along with a son and a daughter from his relationship with Laila Rouass, whom he met in narcotics anonymous. In October 2018, after Taylor-Ann gave birth to a daughter, he became a grandfather. He began dating actress Laila Rouass in 2012 and got engaged in 2013. They had ended their ten-year relationship announced by Rouass in February 2022 , but they later reconciled.
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Full Name
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Ronald
Antonio O'Sullivan
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Birth Date
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December 5,
1975
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Nick Name
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The Rocke
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Sport Country
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England
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Professional
Career
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1992 to Present
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Current
Snooker Ranking
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1 (as of 8
April 2024)
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Century
Breaks
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1,264 (as of
5 May 2024)
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World
Champion
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2001, 2004, 2008,
2012, 2013, 2020, 2022
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Net Worth
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Around £20million (as of of April 2024)
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Wife
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Laila Rouass
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Documentary Film on Ronnie O'Sullivan
FAQs
Q1) Who has ever been the wealthiest snooker player?
Ans) It's no surprise that the all-time greatest snooker player is the wealthiest. The 47-year-old's estimated net worth is £32 million.
Q2) Do players in snooker receive pay?
Ans) Especially because currently, all players ranked below 93 are on track to earn the equivalent of £40,000 in prize money within a span of two years (increasing the earnings from 2022/23 to 2023/24). On the other side, the average income after two years is £66,000, meaning that the wages disparity increases even more.