Ronnie O’Sullivan has never been particularly complimentary about the treatment of snooker by the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year extravaganza, nor optimistic about the prospects of his stellar career and achievements being properly recognised in the process.
The Rocket’s relationship with the programme has been an uneasy one – though he may well never have a better chance of winning the award than this time. There have been years where his omission from shortlists has been especially glaring and bewildering – 2013 after he won a fifth world title having taken an entire season off, and 2018 when he won the UK Championship for a record 19th major success beating the mark of Scot Stephen Hendry, spring instantly to mind.
But this year on Monday for the second time in three years having never previously even made the shortlist, the 47-year-old O’Sullivan, in his 31st year as a professional and the current world No1 and reigning world champion, was named by the panel in the final six to go the voting public during Wednesday night’s show.
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That is the reward for record-equalling seventh Betfred World Championship success at the iconic Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, beating Judd Trump 18-13 in the final, and finally drawing level with Hendry’s haul at the blue-riband tournament.
However all of O’Sullivan’s other myriad titles and records now clearly see him widely regarded as snooker’s GOAT. He has won the most ranking titles with 39, has taken that record of majors in the three BBC Triple Crown tournaments to 21, made almost 300 century breaks more than anyone else in history, and holds the record for the most 147 maximum breaks at 15 – including the fastest ever made in five minutes and eight seconds.
As well as the emotional Crucible success in May that ended with him sobbing in beaten opponent Trump’s arms, for good measure O’Sullivan has also won two huge invitation tournaments – in Hong Kong in front of a record crowd of around 9,000, and the Champion of Champions in Bolton.
Beth Mead is the red-hot bookies favourite for this year’s award after her key role in the England Lionesses’ magnificent run to the title in the summer’s home European Championships. Mead won the Golden Boot as well as Player of the Tournament as Sarina Wiegman’s side claimed a first ever title at a major tournament. The Arsenal forward is therefore a worthy adversary for the Rocket this year, the obvious choice to single out from England’s team success.
But scanning through the other nominees, O’Sullivan should be at least in the top two despite the substantial claims of the remaining four. England cricket captain Ben Stokes has helped oversee a terrific turnaround in the fortunes and approach of the national team and in tandem with new coach Brendon McCullum England have now won nine of their last 10 Tests.
Rising gymnastics star Jessica Gadirova, 18, won gold on the floor at the World Championships in Liverpool after already picking up a silver and a bronze at the same event. Eve Muirhead captained the GB women’s curling team to gold at the Winter Olympics in China. And Jake Wightman won 1,500m gold at the athletics World Championships in Oregon.
But O’Sullivan is in the eyes of so many the kind of sporting genius that comes along only once in a generation or more. It is not just what he has won, but the way he does it. The same could be said for the likes of Roger Federer in tennis, Tiger Woods in golf, and the last Ayrton Senna in Formula One – the three sportspeople that the Rocket cites most often as his biggest inspirations.
There is no doubt that O’Sullivan occasionally does not help himself in a PR ‘playing the same’ sense. Clashes with authority and regularly claiming the sport means very little to him these days, slagging off SPOTY itself plus criticisms of venues and even the standard of lower-ranked players he has branded ‘numpties’ are unlikely to curry favour in this sort of gushy celebration process.
Several years ago, he said: “They give snooker like 10 seconds on Sports Personality – it’s a complete insult to the sport. But it’s what they think of it and what they believe it warrants. I think snooker has lost respect among sports – the Olympics are such a massive thing now, as are golf and tennis.
“I am so happy I don’t get nominated because I would never want to go. It’s not my type of thing – standing around for some gathering. It’s not my scene. But I won’t ever get that one. I don’t know why, I don’t think I’ll be in the hunt. I’m not bothered about awards, trophies and accolades.”
More recently in October on Eurosport he said: “I can’t think of any other British sportsman that has been as successful as I have. There probably is one, but I can’t quite think of them. Breaking the majors record and having 21 of those, equalling Stephen Hendry’s seven world titles – I think that resonates with people. And the public have always supported me really, really well.
“If I can’t win it at least three or four times with the career I’ve had, then it probably doesn’t matter what I do. But I understand there are other sportspeople that maybe come ahead of me in the popularity stakes…and it’s more of a popularity contest and what type of sport you play.”
Steve Davis is the only snooker player ever to have won the award back in 1988, and the Nugget actually finished in the top three on no fewer than five occasions in the 1980s. The last time snooker got close was in 1990 when Hendry finished second to Paul Gascoigne. O’Sullivan was finally nominated two years ago but failed to make the top three. Could this be his year?
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