RONNIE O’SULLIVAN hailed his “amazing” achievement of becoming a ranking tournament centurion.
The Rocket, 49, hit breaks of 107 and 112 as he whitewashed Ukrainian Iulian Boiko 5-0 in the first round of the Xi’an Grand Prix.
Ronnie O’Sullivan played his 1,000th ranking game on Tuesday[/caption]
It was his first match since losing to Australian potter Neil Robertson in the final of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters on August 16, having skipped the past three events on the calendar.
This was his 1,000th ranking event match, a figure that only John Higgins (1,164) and Mark Williams (1,075), both members of the Class of ’92, have bettered.
O’Sullivan, the seven-time world conqueror, said: “It’s amazing. How long have we been around? Thirty-three years as professionals? But we knew each other as juniors as well.
“I’ve been playing against Mark Williams since we were 10 years of age – so 40 years, even as juniors and amateurs.
“We’ve all had really good junior, amateur and professional careers. It’s amazing really. An amazing milestone. Well done to Mark and John for reaching that as well.
“Just amazing that we’re still playing.
“That was a tough game. I know I won 5-0 but there were two or three frames there that could have easily gone Boilko’s way. He was solid, steady.
“I haven’t played a match for two months, so it felt a bit strange out there to play a serious game.
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“There have been three or four tournaments that I haven’t played in, so I feel a little bit rusty, if that’s the right word. But I’m pleased to be through.
“I’m just happy to win one match here so far. Honestly I’ve not played a tournament for 7-8 weeks. So obviously very, very rusty. If I could win two matches here I’ll be so, so happy.
Mark Williams has also surpassed the milestone with 1,075 games[/caption]
“Preparation on the practice table has been good but practice and playing matches are completely different.”
On Tuesday – day one of this Chinese event – there were two 147 breaks for the locals to savour.
First, world No.1 Judd Trump got one in frame five of his 5-2 win over On-yee Ng, and then a few hours later Irishman Aaron Hill achieved the feat against Huang Jiahao, his second 147 in three weeks.
There have been 13 maximums this season and the 2024-25 record of 15 is set to be broken amid concerns the pockets could be playing bigger this campaign.
World No.4 O’Sullivan, who now plays China’s Yao Pengcheng in round two, hit TWO in the same match in Jeddah in August – something that has only happened once before in professional sport.
Asked why he thinks there have been so many perfect frames recently, he laughed: “The reason why I got mine was because there was £197,000 up for grabs.
“The prize was good that day. So it sharpened my mind. I’m not sure what the prize fund is for this tournament.
“But usually it’s quite low compared to that. Obviously I won’t take the risk unless I think it’s worth it.
“I just think the standard is very, very high and many players can make big breaks these days.”
