Ronnie O'Sullivan is 'the best sportsman Britain has produced', according to Anthony Hamilton
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Updated 13/07/2022 at 13:59 GMT
Ronnie O'Sullivan should be in the conversation around Britain's best-ever sportsman based on his talent, believes Anthony Hamilton. O'Sullivan also has a "phenomenal brain" that not enough people give him credit for, and could continue in the sport to even outlast fellow stalwarts Mark Williams and John Higgins.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan should be considered Britain's best-ever sportsman in terms of talent, believes Anthony Hamilton.
O'Sullivan won his seventh world title in May, equalling Stephen Hendry as the man to hold the most.
As impressive as that was, perhaps more remarkable was that O'Sullivan achieved the feat at 46 years old, having won his first in 2001 at just 25.
And his longevity and quality in snooker has provoked comparisons across sports, and a conversation about whether O'Sullivan can be considered one of Britain's best-ever sportspeople.
Hamilton, 51, believes his contemporary certainly should be.
He told the Metro: "He’s just the best sportsman Britain has had, talent-wise, probably ever. I can’t think of anyone who’s got more talent in whatever sport they do.
"15-year-old Ronnie and 50-year-old Ronnie are the same, basically, just the same genius. He’s gone through a bit of a varied storyline of getting to where he is, mentally, but he seems like that’s all under control now.
"He hasn’t actually got the best mentality, because there’s a lot of hanging around all week [at snooker events] and he doesn’t like it.
"He’s found a way to kill time, that’s the important thing. A lot of players aren’t suited for killing time and hanging around for a week, and if they’re good players they’re going to be away a lot.
"I think that’s what he’s done. Off-table he’s sorted out how to kill time, he’s got his ways. He’s had to graft because he’s proper nuts, isn’t he? He’s proper nuts. But he’s got his system now and it works for him and good on him, he’s done well.
"He’s the fittest guy on tour now because of his ways. He’s probably one of the smartest snooker players, but no one really gives him much credit for the way his brain works when he’s out there, but it’s phenomenal, honestly.
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"He doesn’t want to play snooker unless he’s winning tournaments, so he’s found out ways to do it."
On the topic of how long O'Sullivan can go on, Hamilton reckons he could even stay in the sport more than his fellow veterans Mark Williams and John Higgins.
Hamilton said: "Ronnie will probably outlast all of them because he’s that way inclined.
"John and Mark could play, physically if they keep well, as long as they want to, but whether they want to or not is another thing."
It wasn't all praise for O'Sullivan though, with Hamilton busting more myths about the legend's off-table habits.
He said: "Ronnie talks an awful lot of rubbish. He went to the Gibraltar Open, because he had to go for a BetVictor £150k bonus, he went to Gibraltar, got off the plane flying back, about 5pm and he went straight from Stansted to the club to put a few hours practice in. It’s mental.
"This geezer’s not interested in snooker? Give us a break, it’s rubbish. He practises as much as anyone. And he practises better and harder than anybody else, he wants it more than anybody else.
"Whatever he says is an absolute load of rubbish. I think he just says it to wind people up, and people fall for it."
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