Ronnie O'Sullivan 'stands with the greatest any sport can offer' after eighth Masters win, says Dave Hendon
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Published 15/01/2024 at 13:11 GMT
After Ronnie O'Sullivan's eighth Masters victory, Eurosport's Dave Hendon reflects on the Rocket's continued brilliance and why he remains so hard to beat. O'Sullivan overcame Ali Carter in the final at Alexandra Palace to add another title to his collection. Hendon says O'Sullivan showed he is a "fierce competitor" who "stands with the greatest any sport can offer".
‘I don’t know how I’ve won this tournament’ - O’Sullivan delighted to win Masters for eighth time
Ronnie O’Sullivan clearly divides opinion as a player, a sportsman and a person.
Like any extreme personality he attracts devotion and scorn, awe and envy, and every emotion in between.
Well, you can love him or hate him, agree or disagree with him, support or cheer against him. But what you can’t do is ignore him. Ronnie O’Sullivan is undeniable.
What unites friend and foe alike is the knowledge that he is a phenomenal snooker player who possesses the mental fortitude to remain a great champion into middle age. Challengers have come and gone but he is still the man to beat.
An eighth Masters triumph at Alexandra Palace on Sunday night extends an already extraordinary legacy. And those complaining that he wasn’t jumping for joy afterwards are missing the point. For O’Sullivan, pain is part of the process.
If he was deliriously happy with the simple act of winning then the trophies would have dried up long ago. For Ronnie, the thrill is in the hunt for perfection.
As he said himself: “I’m trying to master the game. I’ve never been able to do so, so I’ll keep trying.”
Well, no one has got closer. And now, as at the UK Championship in York last month, he is the oldest champion in a major tournament where, as a precocious teenager, he had become the youngest winner three decades ago.
His 10-7 victory over Ali Carter thrilled the Ally Pally crowd and proved what a fierce competitor O’Sullivan really is when something important is on the line.
At other times he can seem uninterested, almost bewildered by why he has even bothered turning up. But when the pressure comes on, the competitive juices invariably kick in. With a trophy up for grabs, the mists clear and he enters the zone of concentration required to get the job done.
From 6-3 down to Carter, O’Sullivan regrouped. It wasn’t flawless snooker but he toughed it out. He put pressure on his opponent and refused to give way to frustration even when he himself was making mistakes.
For those players who feel there is too much focus on O’Sullivan, the solution is simple: you need to stop him winning these major events.
There’s no doubt that many of them are falling short against him. He was beatable early on in York and again last week. Yet his aura of invincibility cannot be underestimated. Players rightly celebrated as being among the best in the world suddenly lose their faculties when faced with playing him, like aspiring actors who find themselves on stage with Benedict Cumberbatch and nervously fluff their lines.
Ding Junhui, Barry Hawkins and Shaun Murphy are all fine players but they each fell short of their best game in the face of the Rocket, who did enough to beat them without necessarily needing to engage top gear.
This is less true of Carter. He deserves credit for forcing O’Sullivan to up his game. Early on in the final, O’Sullivan was taking everything on, almost goading Carter by playing an open game and daring him to punish. The problem was that Carter was up to the task. He was the better player in the afternoon session and built a 5-3 lead.
Something changed at night. O’Sullivan played a more conventional game. He put Carter under pressure with good safety and the Captain was not quite as assured.
Carter has been a professional for 28 years and never won one of the sport’s three biggest titles, even though he is a terrific player with enormous heart. This illustrates just how difficult it is to land a prestige title. O’Sullivan has now done so 23 times.
So, we’re here again. Another major win for a 48 year-old who seems somehow ageless. He has only lost three matches all season.
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‘He’s beginning to annoy me’ - Carter reflects on Masters final defeat to O’Sullivan
Yes, he can be an acquired taste. Some of his behaviour in interviews comes across as surly and lacking in perspective. He went out of his way to heavily criticise the Alexandra Palace venue, which even his good friend Jimmy White dismissed as "total nonsense".
It is hard to untangle genius. If O’Sullivan had the personality of the other players he would have the career of the other players. Instead, he stands above them all. He stands with the greatest any sport can offer.
'Masters a great showcase for the sport'
O’Sullivan's latest victory ends a successful week for snooker. The Masters was once again a great showcase for the sport. Every session was sold out with the fans passionate and engaged but largely respectful of the action, even if some got a little too over-excited towards the end.
The World Snooker Tour did a fine job of selling the event as a must-have ticket, but as ever it was down to the players to entertain and they delivered.
There were some thrilling matches, including Judd Trump’s last-gasp black ball victory over Kyren Wilson and then his defeat in a decider to Carter, part of a marathon Friday which culminated in a post-midnight victory for Mark Allen over Mark Selby.
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Allen makes Masters maximum 147 break against Selby
These moments will stand long in the memories of those who were there to witness them. No wonder tickets are already selling like hot cakes for the 2025 edition.
Not every event can boast the history of a tournament stretching back to 1975, or the prestige of being solely for the best players in the world, but snooker should have the aspiration for all its competitions to mirror the dynamic appeal of the Masters. The last week proved that the green baize game can still match the best attractions sport has to offer.
The circuit does not rest. The Players Series begins today with the World Grand Prix in Leicester. O’Sullivan is due to play Pang Junxu in round one.
He may be a little jaded after his exertions in the capital, but the same principle applies as at every other event: someone is going to have to stand up to him. Someone is going to have to beat him.
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