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"I only realised the guy was human when he took a breath before the green - and he told me later that he started getting a bit nervous at that point," Price says. O'Sullivan's proved to be the one forever remembered. O'Sullivan had been on the receiving end of a 147 from Hendry three months earlier in January, which was the Scot's fourth in competition, and was yet to get one of his own. "He was just getting quicker and quicker and at one point I thought he was going to explode." "I realised from very early on that he could get a maximum and the way he did it was amazing," says Price. Price had left the cueball considerably short of the balk line, and O'Sullivan stroked a red into the bottom left pocket to cannon the black, and suddenly history was in the making. All the more galling for Price that his safety play was usually his most reliable trait. "On this occasion, I played one of the worst safety shots of my career, let Ronnie in and five minutes later history was made," Price recalls of the brilliance of O'Sullivan. His fifth visit to Sheffield only saw him reach the second round, but it was his stunning display in the match before which left all associated with snooker astonished, none more so than his opponent Mick Price, who had the best seat in the house to watch a moment of magic. O'Sullivan was knocking on the door of a world title, but had tumbled at the semi-final and quarter-final stages in two of his four appearances at the Crucible.
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With snooker accustomed to the dominance of Steve Davis in the 1980s and Hendry in the 90s - both were players who ruthlessly dispatched opponents time after time, grinding them down - O'Sullivan provided a breath of fresh air with his lightning quick speed around the table and his ability to make the game seem ridiculously simple. However, with off-table problems regarding his father Ronnie Sr being jailed the year before for murder, there was a danger that O'Sullivan would never be able to fulfil his potential. So it was evident that O'Sullivan was primed to be a force to be reckoned with. He stormed to the UK Championship crown in 1993 to become the youngest winner of a ranking event as a fresh-faced 17-year-old, beating Hendry in the final. The Chigwell cueman had been making headlines for his dramatic rise to fame since turning professional. With cases made for both players, there is one feat the pair share in common, and that is the number of 147s made, as both have rattled in a superb 11 each.īut few can debate the finest 147 witnessed, and the honour falls to O'Sullivan at the World Championship at the Crucible in April 1997, where 'The Rocket' lifted the roof off one of sport's most famous venues. Is it Stephen Hendry, the man who has won more ranking titles than any other player with 36 triumphs? Or Ronnie O'Sullivan, the most naturally-gifted player the game has seen? The debate continues over who is the greatest snooker player of all-time. Ronnie O'Sullivan celebrates his 38th birthday on Thursday, and with the next 147 maximum break set to be the 100th in the history of snooker, we look back to the quickest made by The Rocket when he cleared the table in just five minutes and 20 seconds. We might not see a break in this weekend's final to match O'Sullivan's 1997 effort, but his presence all-but guarantees entertainment regardless.Watch Ronnie O'Sullivan create snooker history at the Crucible
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O'Sullivan's outspoken demeanour, combined with some sublime skills at the table, make him somebody that fans love to watch. O'Sullivan might well have overstepped the mark in terms of his recent criticism of his peers, however, his back catalogue of extraordinary performances certainly gives him the right to express his opinion. Selby's diligence did not even result in a victory - and he would go on to lose his match with Higgins by five frames to four.
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Overall, Selby's single shot took 53 seconds longer than the time in which O'Sullivan managed to clear the entire table in 1997! Taking in excess of six minutes to play a shot is extreme in any circumstances, but when synced with O'Sullivan's speedy 147, the difference shown in the Twitter video really is comical.