Ronnie O’Sullivan’s hid face at UK Champs before fine for lewd gesture | Other | Sport
Ronnie O’Sullivan has both a glorious and controversial history at the UK Championship. The Rocket has won the prestigious Triple Crown event an incredible eight times, with 30 years separating his first and most recent triumphs.
His first win in 1993, when he was just 17, was a watershed moment in his glorious career, as it was his first major snooker crown. Two years ago, he was lifting the famous trophy again after beating Ding Junhui to become the oldest ever UK champion at 47, two days before his birthday. However, in keeping with the Rocket story, there have also been flashpoints that have landed him in hot water with the sport’s authorities.
Throwing the towel in
O’Sullivan’s interest in the 2005 tournament was both bizarre and brief. In the first round against Mark King, the Essex potter cut the figure of a man who couldn’t wait to get out of the Barbican.
He conceded one frame when just 29 points behind with 51 still remaining and spent large parts of the match with a wet towel on his face. In his 2013 autobiography, he admitted he couldn’t bear watching his opponent at the table.
Clearly struggling mentally, O’Sullivan was presumably relieved to lose 9-8. A young Ding went on to win the tournament, beating Steve Davis in the final.
Lewd gesture
In 2022, the Rocket was fined for two incidents, including one at the previous year’s UK Championship, where he was found guilty of making an obscene gesture during a match against Kyren Wilson.
The financial penalty stemmed from a similar incident at the 2022 World Championship in his first-round clash against David Gilbert. Both allegations were contested by O’Sullivan as his case was heard at the WPBSA disciplinary committee before an independent tribunal.
He was found to have breached the governing body’s code of conduct and his player’s contract. He had to cough up £4,000, half of which was the fine and the rest in costs. However, it won’t have put a major dent in his bank balance as he collected £500,000 for winning a record-equalling seventh world title in 2022, before taking the £250,000 top prize at the following year’s UK Championship.
Having only played competitively in Saudi Arabia and China so far this season, O’Sullivan, who turns 50 two days before the final, begins his 2025 UK campaign against Zhou Yuelong on Tuesday, looking for his first Triple Crown title since the 2024 Masters.
