Amol Rajan interviews ‘The Rocket’ aka Ronald O’Sullivan

Genius is an overused word, especially in sporting circles.

But if there is one person who deserves the label is Ronald Antonio O’Sullivan, the man widely considered as the greatest to have ever picked up a cue.

Nicknamed ‘The Rocket’, Ronnie started playing snooker aged seven and quickly rose to prominence among amateur players, taking first place in a club competition when he was just nine.

He hit his first century break in a match aged 10, took first place in the British Under-16 Championship at 13 and became a professional in 1992, aged just 16.

Since then, he has won the World Championship seven times, a modern-era record he holds jointly with Stephen Hendry, as well as seven Masters and seven UK Championship titles.

O’Sullivan is the only player to have achieved 1,000 century breaks in professional competition, has made the highest number of maximum 147 breaks in professional competition, with 15, and holds the world record for the fastest competitive maximum break, compiled in a time of just five minutes and eight seconds at the 1997 World Championships.

However, these impressive numbers are only half the reason why people find Ronnie so popular and intriguing.

The way the Wordsley-born 47-year-old controls a cue ball, bending it around the angles and using it to pick off every other ball on the table, is hypnotic.

He provides a welcome splash of exhilaration to the sport, both on and off the baize. And when he speaks before or after his matches, you are transfixed, hoping he is going to say something interesting or controversial.

Admittedly, he sometimes goes too far. He was fined £20,000 for head-butting an official at the 1996 World Championships and was stripped of his Irish Masters title in 1998 after testing positive for cannabis.

He’s also got into some argy-bargy with long-time rival Ali Carter, has played games wearing no shoes, and refused to complete maximum breaks on the basis that the prize money is insufficient.

In short, O’Sullivan is the cliched complicated genius. While his dad served 18 years in prison for murder, the snooker table became a place of solace and structure, but also of frustration and fury.

Despite his status as the greatest ever player, O’Sullivan often disappoints his large fanbase with an apparent ambivalence to the sport.

“I have carried this sport pretty much for the last 20-30 years,” he said last year.

As well as going for his eighth title at the UK Championship, which gets under way on Saturday in York, feature-length documentary Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything (executive produced by David Beckham) is being released on Prime Video tomorrow.

To mark a big week for the Rocket, Amol Rajan begins a new series of interviews by sitting down with Ronnie and discussing his life and career.

As the interview is being filmed close to transmission, not much is known of the content.

But the University Challenge presenter and journalist will be doing his best to delve into the complicated mind of one of the world’s most talented, charismatic and captivating sportspeople.