Top 10 moments of 2022/23 snooker season: No. 5 – Ronnie O’Sullivan invokes spirit of ’97 with Rocket-fuelled century

No. 5 – O’Sullivan sprints to astonishing century

His trademark “blink and you’ll miss him” introduction to salivating snooker goers around the globe over the past four decades is never truer than when he is in the mood among the balls.

The world No. 1 ended the latest season – his 31st as a professional at the summit of the sport – as the fastest thing on two legs with an astonishing average shot time of 17.68 seconds quicker than Thai speed merchant Thepchaiya Un‑Nooh’s 17.77.

Much of his ability to win frames at breakneck speed comes with his intuition to control the white ball with as much expertise as working a yoyo to perfection.

Six-time world champion Steve Davis was once nicknamed the ‘Master Cueman’ in the 1980s, but that moniker now belongs firmly in the gift of his fellow Essex professional.

If you don’t need to walk very far to the next shot, you don’t need to fret over potting the next ball, and so the cue ball chain reaction triggers phenomenal reactions.

His 4-0 win against Bai Langning in the first round of the Scottish Open at Meadowbank Sports Centre in November was a timely reminder why O’Sullivan is the biggest draw in town.

It had to be seen to be believed as Bai looked on in disbelief with referee Rob Spencer gamely attempting to get the colours back up while the seven-time world champion produced a break-building blur of 118 in the second frame.

“I don’t think I’ve seen a quicker century break in the history of the game than this,” said former world No. 3 Neal Foulds in the Eurosport commentary box.

He appeared to have recorded the fastest televised century, but discovered timekeepers struggling to keep pace with matters.

O’Sullivan apparently reached three figures at three minutes and 24 seconds, appearing to overtake Tony Drago’s 27-year-old ground-breaking knock of three minutes and 31 seconds against John Higgins at the 1996 UK Championship in Preston.

But tournament officials later clocked the contribution as three minutes and 34 seconds with a VAR review, leaving him three seconds short of the record from a match won in 45 minutes with an absurd average shot time of 11.4 seconds.

“I just felt like I needed to speed up a bit and try and enjoy it a bit,” said O’Sullivan.

“The first part of the break I was just trying to do what you have to do, which is try and be as clinical as you can.

“And then once the frame was won I thought ‘let’s see if we can beat the fastest [century break].

“I knew Drago probably had it. So I just thought I’d start going for it, just a bit of fun really.”

For the record, O’Sullivan feeling the need for speed in snooker remains a uniquely exhilarating sporting experience.

– – –