'Rocket' Ronnie has always promised so much but has yet to really deliver.

Ever since he became the youngest, at 17, to win a ranking tournament - beating Stephen Hendry at the 1993 UK Championships - the public waited in anticipation for O'Sullivan to go that step further and lift the world crown.

He won the UK title for the second time in 1997 and then reached the semi-finals of the Embassy World Championships in 1998 and 1999 but could not find that extra gear and temperament to defeat John Higgins and Stephen Hendry.

But to his credit, O'Sullivan has lit up the world of snooker with his natural ability and his showman performances.

He compiled the fastest 147, five minutes and 20 seconds, against Mick Price in the Crucible back in 1997.

And only recently, O'Sullivan picked up the Regal Masters title at the expense of former world number one Stephen Hendry.

Who is to say that the 'Rocket' will not fire again?