Ronnie O’Sullivan blew my mind when he did something I’ve never seen before – it was frightening
Watching Ronnie O’Sullivan is a thing of beauty. We’ll miss him when he finally quits playing snooker – except if you’re the one he’s playing against him. O’Sullivan is a seven-time world snooker champion and widely considered the greatest everGetty talkSPORT host Goldstein has known O’Sullivan for years and is always left speechless by ‘The Rocket’talkSPORT O’Sullivan is tied with Stephen Hendry for the most world titles in the modern-era with seven each and could take that to eight when the 2025 World Championship begins. talkSPORT Drive presenter Andy Goldstein has had the privilege of facing The Rocket in practice many times, having grown up with him, but admits he has never got one over on him. “I didn’t because we were playing off levels, so I couldn’t even get close to him,” Goldstein told talkSPORT.com. “But I used to do all the snooker for Eurosport and the way that used to work… we used to have the four home nations and then about two or three other events. “Let’s just say we did the English Open. I’m away in Milton Keynes – and you’re staying in the hotel and then back at the studio, you’ve got your own snooker table. “So if I want to stand next to Jimmy White and Jimmy’s going to explain how someone played a certain shot there’s a table in front of you. “We had our own table and when you go to competitions, there aren’t a lot of tables for players to practice on. “So a few of the players who were either good friends with me or good friends with Jimmy would ask if they could use the table.” He continued: “One time, it was at Milton Keynes, I think during lockdown… all the events were played there. “Ronnie came in to practice and he said, ‘Do you want a few frames?’ Goldstein and O’Sullivan met on the table for a series of framesEurosport The seven-time world champion is aiming for a record-breaking eighth title this yearGetty “Usually when people tell stories, they elaborate a little bit. But I’m not going to elaborate. Let’s just say we played five frames – he would break or I would break, I’ll go for a shot, I’d miss it. He didn’t miss one ball. “He did not miss one ball. Other players at the top of their game would come in and they’d practice. Neil Robertson used to come in quite a bit. Ken Doherty was obviously playing there because he used to do some punitive stuff and they’d come in. “I’d play them, I’d knock a couple of balls in, they’d make 70s and 80s, they’d miss a ball. Ronnie did not miss one ball and I was blown away by it.” Goldstein was stunned by how easy O’Sullivan made it look as he watched him in action. He added: “I was blown away for two reasons. One: how great he was, because I knew that. But two: when you take all the pressure off and put him on a practice table, when no one’s watching… how easy it was for him. “You watch him on the telly now and you go, oh my God, he’s great. And there’ll be people watching this now going, ‘He must’ve missed one’. “He did not miss one ball in five frames. It was unbelievable. Frightening.” O’Sullivan’s seven world titles are included in his tally of 41 career ranking titles. The world number five has also made a staggering 1,282 century breaks, with 15 of those being maximums. However, his last world title came back in 2022, with a pair of quarter-finals exits in his two appearances since. He is set to once again challenge for a record eighth title at The Crucible this month. It has been far from an ideal season heading into the event, though, with The Rocket pulling out of a string of events on ‘medical grounds’. GettyO’Sullivan has not played competitively since January as he heads to Sheffield[/caption] As a result, he has not played competitive snooker since appearing in the Championship League in January. O’Sullivan’s absence from events sees him down in 31st on the one-year ranking list as he failed to qualify for the Players and Tour Championships. Meanwhile, he has not reached a ranking final since last year’s Tour Championship, which came a month after his most recent event win. That came at the World Masters of Snooker, a non-ranking event, with the snooker icon’s last ranking win back in January 2024 at the World Grand Prix. Despite that, he could still move clear of Hendry with an eighth world title in the coming weeks. O’Sullivan will enter the main draw as the fifth seed, with the last 32 beginning on Saturday and the final scheduled for May 5.
Watching Ronnie O’Sullivan is a thing of beauty.
We’ll miss him when he finally quits playing snooker – except if you’re the one he’s playing against him.
O’Sullivan is tied with Stephen Hendry for the most world titles in the modern-era with seven each and could take that to eight when the 2025 World Championship begins.
talkSPORT Drive presenter Andy Goldstein has had the privilege of facing The Rocket in practice many times, having grown up with him, but admits he has never got one over on him.
“I didn’t because we were playing off levels, so I couldn’t even get close to him,” Goldstein told talkSPORT.com.
“But I used to do all the snooker for Eurosport and the way that used to work… we used to have the four home nations and then about two or three other events.
“Let’s just say we did the English Open. I’m away in Milton Keynes – and you’re staying in the hotel and then back at the studio, you’ve got your own snooker table.
“So if I want to stand next to Jimmy White and Jimmy’s going to explain how someone played a certain shot there’s a table in front of you.
“We had our own table and when you go to competitions, there aren’t a lot of tables for players to practice on.
“So a few of the players who were either good friends with me or good friends with Jimmy would ask if they could use the table.”
He continued: “One time, it was at Milton Keynes, I think during lockdown… all the events were played there.
“Ronnie came in to practice and he said, ‘Do you want a few frames?’
“Usually when people tell stories, they elaborate a little bit. But I’m not going to elaborate. Let’s just say we played five frames – he would break or I would break, I’ll go for a shot, I’d miss it. He didn’t miss one ball.
“He did not miss one ball. Other players at the top of their game would come in and they’d practice. Neil Robertson used to come in quite a bit. Ken Doherty was obviously playing there because he used to do some punitive stuff and they’d come in.
“I’d play them, I’d knock a couple of balls in, they’d make 70s and 80s, they’d miss a ball. Ronnie did not miss one ball and I was blown away by it.”
Goldstein was stunned by how easy O’Sullivan made it look as he watched him in action.
He added: “I was blown away for two reasons. One: how great he was, because I knew that. But two: when you take all the pressure off and put him on a practice table, when no one’s watching… how easy it was for him.
“You watch him on the telly now and you go, oh my God, he’s great. And there’ll be people watching this now going, ‘He must’ve missed one’.
“He did not miss one ball in five frames. It was unbelievable. Frightening.”
O’Sullivan’s seven world titles are included in his tally of 41 career ranking titles.
The world number five has also made a staggering 1,282 century breaks, with 15 of those being maximums.
However, his last world title came back in 2022, with a pair of quarter-finals exits in his two appearances since.
He is set to once again challenge for a record eighth title at The Crucible this month.
It has been far from an ideal season heading into the event, though, with The Rocket pulling out of a string of events on ‘medical grounds’.
As a result, he has not played competitive snooker since appearing in the Championship League in January.
O’Sullivan’s absence from events sees him down in 31st on the one-year ranking list as he failed to qualify for the Players and Tour Championships.
Meanwhile, he has not reached a ranking final since last year’s Tour Championship, which came a month after his most recent event win.
That came at the World Masters of Snooker, a non-ranking event, with the snooker icon’s last ranking win back in January 2024 at the World Grand Prix.
Despite that, he could still move clear of Hendry with an eighth world title in the coming weeks.
O’Sullivan will enter the main draw as the fifth seed, with the last 32 beginning on Saturday and the final scheduled for May 5.
