How Stephen Hendry and football icon savoured Ronnie O’Sullivan’s 147 magic – ‘Greatest thing I’ve seen in any sport’

Snooker GOAT Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed how former Italy striker Fabrizio Ravanelli congratulated him after his world-record 147 break at the Crucible Theatre in 1997.

O’Sullivan recalls the immediate aftermath of the break when he came across Ravanelli – suitably nicknamed ‘The White Feather’ – who had moved to Premier League Middlesbrough after scoring in Juventus’ triumph against Ajax in the 1996 Champions League final in Rome.

“That was crazy. That break was nuts, but I couldn’t win the World Championship playing like that. I was running round the table,” said O’Sullivan speaking to Hendry on his YouTube channel.

The Scotsman feels the audacity and skill of the break transcends snooker.

“That’s the greatest thing I’ve seen in any sport,” he told his fellow seven-time world champion. “When you watch it back you think: ‘He’s not going to do it in that time?’ It’s unbelievable.”

The break was initially recorded at five minutes and 20 seconds, but was later deemed to be 12 seconds faster after the official timing of the break from start to finish was discovered to be wrong.

“I did it so quick, so I didn’t have to think,” said O’Sullivan. “I remember seeing you afterwards. I think Ravanelli was there, remember that?

“We were in the hotel and Ravanelli was at Middlesbrough at the time. He signalled to me and said: ‘Well done’.

“Then I just seen you afterwards and you said there was more pressure on making the maximum than winning the tournament. That’s what you said to me.

“Maxis are great. Maybe I should start making a few of them.”

O’Sullivan has produced more competitive maximums than anybody else in snooker history with 15 compiled so far.

His first was remarkably his astonishing achievement on the sport’s biggest stage, but he cites his 12th in the closing frame of his 9-3 win against Ding in the 2014 Welsh Open final as his favourite.

His pot on the final red with deep screw using his left hand was particularly memorable.

“I liked the one against Ding,” he said. “That was unbelievable.”

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