By Dan Warren
BBC Sport at the Crucible |
 If O'Sullivan keeps his eye on the ball he could go all the way |
Ronnie O'Sullivan's place in snooker's hall of fame is assured - even if he never wins another frame. True, there is as much chance of that as there is of the controversial "Rocket" agreeing to smile sweetly for the cameras and shine the boots of every one of snooker's bosses.
In his quarter-final against Anthony Hamilton, O'Sullivan was near-perfect - and his scintillating form has put him on course to break one of the great snooker records.
Some prolific break-building means one of Stephen Hendry's brilliant milestones could soon fall to the Essex exocet. The Scot made 16 breaks of 100 or more when finishing as runner-up in 2002 - but O'Sullivan already has 10 this year and has, potentially, 68 frames more to play.
It is remarkable even to have a Hendry record in your sights - the undisputed King of the Crucible is unquestionably snooker's greatest-ever century maker.
 | CRUCIBLE CENTURY STATS Highest no. by individual:
16 - Stephen Hendry 2002 Highest no. in one year:
68 - in 2002 147 breaks at Crucible:
Five Players to make 147:
R O'Sullivan ('97 & '03)
C Thorburn ('83)
J White ('92)
S Hendry ('95) |
The seven-times world champion has made more than 600 tons as a professional and has the 650 mark in his sights.
That is nearly 300 more than the man in second-place, which, naturally enough, is O'Sullivan.
The question, as always with the Rocket, is will his maverick talent be a blessing or a curse at the business end of the tournament?
If O'Sullivan was given a century break for every time someone labelled him a "Jekyll and Hyde" character then he would be miles ahead of Hendry on the all-time list.
But, cliche though it is, there is no better way to describe O'Sullivan's manner of switching from the mediocre to the marvellous.
| CRUNCHING RONNIE'S NUMBERS O'Sullivan's won 36 frames this year at The Crucible In doing so he has made 10 breaks of 100 or more That's a century for every 3.6 frames he wins If he wins the title, he needs to win another 35 frames At his current rate, that will yield another 10 tons That will make 20, smashing Hendry's current record of 16 |
Which Ronnie will we see in the semis?
There is no doubt that if he keeps playing like he has, the record will fall.
O'Sullivan is showing why he is the only man to make two 147s at the Crucible, and why he can make a maximum with his right or left hand.
But, lest we forget, his moodswings have shown why he has been repeatedly fined and rapped on the knuckles by the sport's authorities.
Predicting which way the Rocket will fire is pretty pointless, but a word of warning to his next opponent - he is showing signs of focusing his energies.
A relationship with his new mentor, former world champion Ray Reardon, seems to be paying dividends.
"Ray is a top man and that's important if you are to have a working relationship. Two or three times he has told me there are other ways to do things, and I'm listening to him," O'Sullivan said this week.
It is a key point. For all his brilliance in other areas, listening has been a weak area for O'Sullivan.
And if he keeps doing it, there is little doubt we will be hearing a lot more about his brilliance this weekend.
MMIX
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