Any snooker fans here?
I play a bit of 8-ball and 9-ball, but I never paid any attention to snooker until a few months ago when I watched some videos of Ronnie O'Sullivan scoring "maximums" (the maximum 147 points, which requires potting a red ball followed by the black ball 15 times and then running the six colors in sequence). O'Sullivan has scored a record 15 maximums in tournament play and an astonishing 986 "century breaks" (100 points in a single "visit" to the table). Now, I'm totally addicted -- such a fascinating game! -- and all the top players have incredible skills at potting balls in those narrow pockets and keeping the cue ball "on a string." I used to be impressed by professional pool players like Efren Reyes and Earl Stickland, but really, there are at least a dozen snooker players who are more impressive, and the fact that the game itself is more interesting makes it much more entertaining to watch.
25 years ago, 17-year-old O'Sullivan stunned the snooker world by winning the prestigious UK Championship, one of snooker's Triple Crown tournaments. Today, I've been hanging out on YouTube all day, watching each frame as it was posted, hoping Ronnie would win it for the 7th time, and he did! It was his 19th win in a Triple Crown tournament, surpassing the legendary Stephen Hendry's record of 18, and his 34th win in a "ranking" tournament, only 2 behind Hendry. The 986 centuries far exceeds Hendry's 775, and he will likely reach 1000 this season. Very few snooker players remain competitive in their 40s, but O'Sullivan, who turned 43 this week, shows no sign of slowing down yet.
So, I hereby declare that it's official: Ronnie O'Sullivan is the Greatest Snooker Player Who Ever Lived!
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when David Vine mentioned the enormous $60,000 prize, it doesn’t seem like much by today’s standards.
That last frame always blows my mind, knowing what they went through to get there, that Taylor was down 0-7 after the first 7 frames, that the World Championship went down to the last black of the last frame, that the last frame was the longest of all 35, it was well past midnight and there were still more than 18 million people watching... the pressure must have just been mind-blowing and you can see it as they both screw up winning shots on the final black. Amazing stuff.
The flip side to that would be one of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s record breaking five-minute 147s, where he looks like he’s just out for a gentle stroll in the park. Bang bang bang hey where’d all the balls go?
That guy is a genius.
These days, a 147 takes him 7 or 8 minutes. 
Yeah, it was that 5-minute maximum that hooked me on the game. Other players have the skill to do it, of course, but it's just mesmerizing watching Ronnie's break building, taking shots you didn't expect and then seeing why, getting out of position occasionally but then making a tough pot to recover, and making everything look so easy. Then there was the time he was working on a good 147, obviously having fun after he secured the frame, and he asked the referee what the bonus was for a maximum. When the referee said is was "only" £10,000, Ronnie deliberately shot a pink instead of the black, actually a harder shot, then cleared to finish with a 146. Definitely snooker's favorite entertainer! 
