Born: 5 December 1975 Nationality: English Seeded: 2 World ranking: 1 Career earnings: �3,262,710 Ranking points: 41,550 Crucible best: Winner (2001) |
O'Sullivan is widely regarded as the most naturally gifted player in the world today. The defining moment of his career so far came in winning the 2001 World Championship.
That season he won half-a-dozen events, producing some punishing displays along the way.
Last season, the Chigwell player won the UK Championship and was close to retaining his world crown.
However, seven-time champion Stephen Hendry stood in his way in the semi-final.
O'Sullivan, who has often toyed with the idea of quitting the sport, had been in sensational form going into the 2003 World Championship.
He won the first tournament of the season, the Regal Masters, and recently followed that up with European Open and Irish Masters wins.
The Crucible was the venue which saw O'Sullivan achieve the fastest 147 maximum in history back in 1997.
He repeated that feat at the recent Championship but eventually suffered the indignity of losing his first-round match to qualifier Marco Fu.
MMIX
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