Ronnie O’Sullivan shrugged off suggestions of greatness on the eve of his bid to eclipse Stephen Hendry and become the first player to win eight world snooker titles in the modern era.
O’Sullivan is already routinely described as the best player to pick up a cue after a record-breaking career that includes eight Masters and eight UK titles within a total of 41 ranking tournament wins.
But the 48-year-old, who starts his first round match against Welsh qualifier Jackson Page on Wednesday, has never been one to pore over the record books, and questions whether such plaudits are worth having at all.
“I don’t regard myself as the greatest of all time,” said O’Sullivan. “Statistically I suppose I am, but I’m just happy to be playing.
“I suppose as a kid I would have been desperate to be up with those guys but when you get there it’s a bit of an anti-climax – it’s not as great as you thought it would be.”
O’Sullivan, who won his first world title in 2001, currently sits on seven alongside Hendry, with Davis and Ray Reardon one behind on six wins each.
Yet while the title-winning eras of those fellow greats spanned less than a decade, O’Sullivan’s longevity, which shows all the signs of pushing on beyond a quarter of a century, makes the reign of the ‘Rocket’ indisputably unique.
“I’ve had a different career to them,” added O’Sullivan. “They just did it over a 10-year period while I’ve sort of gone off track for five or six years, then got myself back together, then disappeared for another three years, then got myself back together again.
“I was a bit all over the shop really, stuff going on off the table that can affect how you perform. Hendry and Davis had everything fitted around them to focus on snooker, but that’s how it worked out for me, so I’ve had to go on longer.”
“I love playing, I enjoy it. I get to travel where I want, take time off when I want, be my own boss. It’s those little things, and you want to win because competitiveness has always been in me.
Amid more top-level retirement talk, with Mark Selby the latest to question his future in the sport after his first round defeat to Joe O’Connor, O’Sullivan appears to be heading back to the Crucible intent on many more attempts to increase his legacy.
He has linked up with a new coach and is clearly putting the effort in ahead of his opener against 22-year-old Page, who beat Barry Hawkins on his Crucible debut two years ago before suffering a heavy defeat to Mark Williams in round two.
O’Sullivan added: “I love playing, I enjoy it. I get to travel where I want, take time off when I want, be my own boss. It’s those little things, and you want to win because competitiveness has always been in me.
“I’m pretty cool with what I’ve done and I’d like to keep winning more. Whether that makes me the greatest or not, I don’t know. It really doesn’t matter.”
Charlotte Hornets name Charles Lee head coach
The Charlotte Hornets announced Charles Lee as their new head coach Thursday, with the current Boston Celtics assistant tabbed to take over a team with the NBA's longest active streak of missing the playoffs.
ESPN reports that Lee, who previously served as an assistant for the Milwaukee Bucks during that team's NBA title run in 2020-21, has agreed to a four-year contract.
Lee will replace Steve Clifford, who stepped down at the end of this season but will remain with the Hornets in a front-office advisory role. Charlotte finished 21-61 in 2023-24, tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for the third-lowest win total in the league.
“The opportunity to be the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets is a dream come true,” Lee said in a statement. “I want to thank (owner) Rick Schnall, (owner) Gabe Plotkin and (Vice President of Basketball Operations) Jeff Peterson for the trust they are placing in me to lead this team."
Lee has had a hand in a number of successful campaigns during his 10-year stint as an NBA assistant, a stretch that began with the Atlanta Hawks in 2014. The 39-year-old has been a part of nine post-season appearances and seven division title winners during that span, with three of those teams (the 2014–15 Hawks, 2018–19 Bucks and 2020–21 Bucks) advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.
The former Bucknell University star has been on the staff of four of the last six teams that finished the regular season with the NBA's best record, including this past one when the Celtics compiled a 64-18 mark.
Lee also has familiarity with new Hornets vice president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson, as the two worked together in Atlanta during Lee's four seasons with the Hawks from 2014-18.
“We are excited to welcome Charles Lee as the head coach of the Charlotte Hornets,” said Peterson. “His high character and his ability to connect with players while also instilling a culture of accountability will serve us well as we construct a competitive team built for long-term success. Charles possesses a championship pedigree with a wide range of basketball knowledge and NBA experience, has a tremendous work ethic and is a great communicator. He shares our vision for this organisation, and I look forward to partnering with him in building something special here in the Carolinas."
Lee left the Hawks in 2018 to begin a five-year stint with the Bucks under Mike Budenholzer and was promoted to associate head coach in 2022. He was hired as the Celtics' top assistant under Joe Mazzulla in June.
The Maryland native now joins a franchise that has missed the playoffs in eight consecutive seasons, three more than the teams that currently hold the second-longest drought (Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs).
Charlotte's future does offer some promise, however. In 2023 No. 2 overall pick Brandon Miller, 2020-21 NBA Rookie of the Year LaMelo Ball and center Mark Williams, the Hornets have three potential building blocks that are all 22 years old or younger.
Ball has played in only 58 of a possible 164 games over the past two seasons due to ankle injuries, however, and Williams was limited to just 19 games this season by a back issue.
"The Hornets have a talented young core of players, and I’m excited about our future and what we can build here," Lee said. "There are few places as passionate about basketball as the Carolinas, and I look forward to coming to Charlotte and getting to work.”
Jack Lisowski forges ahead against Ding Junhui in tight Crucible clash
Jack Lisowski forged a 5-4 lead in his World Snooker Championship opener against Ding Junhui as the clash lived up to its billing as the tie of the round.
Lisowski, who reached the quarter-finals at the Crucible in 2022, had to qualify for this year’s tournament after dropping out of the top 16, beating Matthew Stevens 10-3 last week to book his ticket.
But after falling behind early on against Ding, Lisowski looked back to his best as he edged a highly entertaining first session.
Lisowski, 32, looked in danger of being blown away by Ding on Tuesday morning as the 2016 finalist flew out of the blocks, compiling a clearance worth 127 to win the opening frame.
The Chinese star then enjoyed a huge slice of luck in the second as he fluked a red into a middle pocket early on, but a missed black at 23-0 opened the door for Lisowski to pot his first ball of the day.
Lisowski was only able to score a solitary point at that visit before letting Ding back in, though, and he finished the frame with a break of 60 to make it 2-0.
The Englishman hit back in the next, rattling off a break of 72 to reduce Ding’s lead to one.
And Lisowski went into the mid-session interval tied at 2-2 courtesy of a break of 91 in the fourth frame.
Ding displayed his brilliant battling qualities in the fifth frame as he conjured a 98 to edge ahead once more.
An attritional sixth frame, which lasted more than half an hour as a tactical battle broke out, went Lisowski’s way as he drew level.
But Ding made quick work of the next frame, winning it with a break of 90 to go 4-3 up before Lisowski took the eighth.
And Lisowski won the final frame of the session to lead for the first time in the match.
Former finalist Kyren Wilson has one foot in the second round after storming into an 8-1 lead against Welshman Dominic Dale, who is making his Crucible comeback after a 10-year absence.
Wilson started brightly, winning the first two frames before Dale seemed set to get his first frame on the board after opening up a 30-0 lead in the third.
But Wilson made Dale pay for missing the pink as he roared back with a break of 75 to take a 3-0 lead.
Dale was not to be denied in the fourth frame, though, producing a stunning break of 120 to get on the scoreboard.
Wilson regained command immediately after the interval with a phenomenal break of 123 before a 98 in the next frame moved him 5-1 in front.
Englishman Wilson then showed exceptional nerve to come from behind to win the next frame 74-70 to extend his lead to five.
Wilson’s dominance continued as he won the next two frames with breaks of 77 and 73 to extend his massive lead.
Make it shinier and nicer – Hossein Vafaei says ‘everything so bad’ at Crucible
Hossein Vafaei strongly criticised the conditions at the Crucible after crashing out of the World Snooker Championship in a 10-5 defeat by former champion Judd Trump.
The Iranian described the famous Sheffield venue as “smelly”, compared its practice facilities to “like playing in a garage”, and questioned the treatment of players in the course of the marathon 17-day event.
“Everything’s so bad – if you ask me if I want to come back here, I would tell you no way,” said Vafaei, who is no stranger to Crucible controversy after playing a rash break-off shot in his defeat by Ronnie O’Sullivan last year.
“Forget the history, you want to go somewhere really nice as a player. You walk round the Crucible and it smells really bad. You go to other countries, and everything is shiny. But here it’s completely different.
“The practice room – do you see anything special? I feel like I’m practising in a garage.”
Speculation over the future of the Crucible, which has staged he tournament since 1977, has been heightened since world number one Ronnie O’Sullivan suggested it should be moved to Saudi Arabia or China when the existing deal expires in 2027.
Vafaei, who made his debut in 2022, is clearly no fan and continued: “Look at the China venues, how fantastic they treat the players, a red carpet and an opening ceremony. The players are treated like stars. But here no one looks after the players, before and after the match no one cares who you are.
“If they don’t want to lose the Crucible invest some money, make it shinier, make it nicer, make it more luxury for the people. If they make it cleaner and nicer, people will enjoy it.”
Trump turned a 6-3 overnight advantage into a comfortable win over his opponent, who cut a frustrated figure after failing to take a series of chances to reach the midway point with more of a chance against the 2019 champion.
Trump was not even required to summon a half-century in a low-key second session, and was more than happy to ease though a potentially tricky assignment and seal his place in the last 16 against either Tom Ford or Ricky Walden.
“I got the job done in that first session,” shrugged Trump. “I knew it was going to be a bit demoralising for him to be 6-3 down after that performance, so today was about getting a few frames early on and knocking the belief out of him.
“Coming into this event I was a lot more confident than I have been in the last three or four years. It’s nice to know I’m into the second round and I’ve got a few days off so I can sit back and watch other people sweat.”
It was a different matter for four-time champion Mark Selby, who is on the brink of falling at the first hurdle after losing his first session 7-3 to debutant Joe O’Connor.
Selby, who questioned his future in the sport after losing to Gary Wilson in the Tour Championship earlier this month, was second best against his Leicester rival, who reeled off five frames in a row to leave himself in a commanding position ahead of Monday’s resumption.
Eleventh seed Zhang Anda followed defending champion Luca Brecel out of the tournament as he was hammered 10-4 by last year’s surprise quarter-finalist Jak Jones.
Resuming 5-2 in front after their abridged opening session on Saturday, Jones chiselled his way over the line with a top break of 60, while Zhang’s 95 in the 13th frame proved much too little, too late.
Shaun Murphy fashioned a 6-3 lead over China’s Lyu Haotian despite a dreadful missed black in the fifth frame that briefly inspired his opponent to claw back a 3-1 deficit and level at 3-3.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
