– An expert in many other sports would have received significantly more appreciation with such a CV.
One of the hottest coaching names in snooker Stephen Feeney at the beginning of the interview succinctly sums up what he sees himself as Ronnie O’Sullivan’s meaning for the species.
O’Sullivan broke through to the top of snooker in 1993 when he won the UK Championship, one of three major tournaments, at the age of 17. Thanks to that title, O’Sullivan remains the youngest Tournament winner on the professional tour in history.
On Sunday, exactly 30 years later, O’Sullivan was crowned champion in the same tournament. He knocked down China in the tough final Ding Junhui batch 10–7. O’Sullivan is now the youngest and oldest winner of the UK Championship.
– The fact that he has been at the top of the sport for 30 years and is still able to play at this level is something amazing, Feeney praises O’Sullivan, who is celebrating his 48th birthday on Tuesday.
First mental, then technical
O’Sullivan’s long road to the top of snooker has been full of events. The champion himself has described 2011 as the most significant turning point in his career, when he was one set away from falling out of the top 16 in the world rankings.
Being eliminated on the professional snooker tour at the time would have meant that O’Sullivan would have had to cut out places for major tournaments. It was not an option for the superstar. Sports psychiatrist by Steve Peters with lessons, O’Sullivan was able to keep his head together. The two’s successful collaboration continues.
O’Sullivan’s and Feeney’s paths crossed in the summer of 2018. O’Sullivan became interested in Sight Right, an aiming technology developed by Feeney, which allows one of O’Sullivan’s fiercest competitors Mark Williams returned as world champion after a 15-year hiatus.
– Ronnie saw what Sight Right did to Mark. He understood that something significant is happening here, where you shouldn’t give your opponents a competitive advantage, Feeney recalls.
According to Feeney, O’Sullivan contacted him in the summer of 2018. The first training session was arranged quickly.
– The first thing I asked Ronnie to aim for and hit the straight blue ball. The test showed he was out of alignment as he prepared to hit. When I told him about it, he understood immediately.
– Steve Peters taught Ronnie to deal with his emotions and control himself. My job was to help him understand why something happens on a detailed level. This may sound crazy when it comes to the most talented and successful player of all time, says Feeney.
More dangerous than ever
The essence of Feeney’s coaching philosophy is that the player does not need to put resources into the alignment and aim of the shot after adopting a revolutionary technique among professionals.
– Like many players, Ronnie also corrected the aiming mistakes he made while preparing the shot in the low hitting position. It’s not the most efficient way to play, but it didn’t stop him from being the best in the world. Nevertheless, Ronnie was ready to learn something new. That’s rare, Feeney says.
O’Sullivan has now won 22 major tournaments, eight of which have come from the UK Championship. In both the WC tournament and the Masters, he has been the best seven times.
In the UK Championship and the Masters, O’Sullivan has a record number of victories. He shares first place in the World Championship titles of Stephen Hendry with.
– Ronnie may not admit publicly that he needs an eighth World Championship title, but I think he does. I think he is now more dangerous as a player than ever, says Feeney.
Leaving the tour?
The fact that O’Sullivan does not own snooker’s most significant record alone might be a big help for the sport in the next few years – that is, if O’Sullivan does not win his eighth world championship next May.
O’Sullivan and other stars have been fiercely critical of the umbrella organization World Snooker in recent years. They have felt that the management level of the sport does not know how to take advantage of snooker’s commercial market value.
Earlier this season, some of the stars left the professional snooker tour in between the competition to take part in a lucrative invitational competition in China. The event was eventually canceled when the umbrella organization threatened the players with fines and suspensions. However, the uproar is far from over.
According to the information obtained by Urheilu from several sources, a small circuit tour is being planned behind the scenes, where the prize pool would be at least one hundred million euros. Currently, the prize money in the professional season is less than 20 million euros in total, and 128 players are sharing the pot.
O’Sullivan enjoys such great popularity that he pays about 70,000 euros for a two-day show trip with his current taxis. Most of the tournaments on the professional tour are played in Britain, where, with a few exceptions, earning 70,000 euros requires the player to win a tournament. To do that, the player often has to win seven matches and spend at least a week at the venue.
For the tournaments played abroad, O’Sullivan and the other stars have to qualify in different parts of Britain at venues whose conditions are far from glamorous.
– In China, players are treated like royalty: there is a red carpet, stars are driven around in luxury cars and other commemorations. It is made clear to the players in every way that they are respected. In Britain, the treatment of players even in the main series of tournaments is not at the level it should be – especially when you take into account the popularity of snooker as a televised sport, says Feeney.
According to Feeney, the umbrella organization World Snooker and the English tournament organizers should look in the mirror and ask themselves if they take care of their stars to the same standard as other major sports.
– Ronnie is fascinated by China’s way of treating players. And not only him, but all professionals! There isn’t an athlete who doesn’t enjoy the attention they deserve, Feeney states.
If the umbrella organization does not open the money taps, Feeney considers it possible that the current structures of snooker will collapse. According to Feeney, it is very possible that O’Sullivan will be referring to the umbrella organization’s tour with the glove while he is still the best in the world. The threat image is, to say the least, embarrassing for competitive snooker.
– It would be a sad day for World Snooker, but ultimately the most important thing is that he is happy.
– If things work out and Ronnie is hungry enough to succeed, he may very well be the best in the world for another 3-5 years, for example. Wherever he goes, the people love him. Ronnie has the power to choose how he makes a living playing snooker, Feeney says.