In the early morning of December 20, Beijing time, in the final of the 2021 Snooker World Grand Prix that ended in Coventry, England, "Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan equalized several times and achieved a rebound after falling behind several times, leaving a classic reversal of the famous game, and finally defeated Neil Robertson 10-8 to win the championship for the second time, ending his 16-month championship drought, getting 100,000 pounds in prize money, and increasing the number of ranking championships to 38 times. The rocket is more happy to be at the door, but when it delivers the acceptance speech, it "insinuates", boasting and squeezing some of its peers at the same time, and the "big mouth" and wayward and self-made personality are once again displayed.
In the past 16 months, O'Sullivan has reached the final of the ranking tournament five times, but all of them have failed in the end, winning five runners-up, and as the number one person in the world snooker, he has continued the championship drought for one year and four months. This season is more regrettable two weeks ago at the British Championship, according to the schedule, the final on December 5 is O'Sullivan's 46th birthday, many fans expect him to win the championship on his birthday, but he lost to Karen Wilson in the semi-finals, so that this expected and expected "good story" did not end.
In the subsequent Scottish Open, O'Sullivan lost to his old rival Higgins, and his chances of winning the title in 2021 were only left in this Grand Prix. But it was this only chance that the "Rockets" seized, continuing his record of winning the ranking championship every year after entering the professional arena. At the same time, O'Sullivan also increased his record of the most ranking championships to 38.
In this final with the "Melbourne Machine" Robertson, O'Sullivan fell behind several degrees to equalize several times, from 0-2 to 2-2, from 2-4 to 4-4, from 5-7 to the sudden opening of the four whips, the score was reversed to 9-7, reflecting his deep skill and excellent psychological quality, especially showing his strong desire to win, and in many cases his desire to win is not visible, and this time it can be seen that the "Rockets" really want to win.
Especially in the 8th inning, the Rockets fell behind 3-4 in the big score, and Robertson had achieved a super score (6 points) in the small score, which seemed to be another defeat, but O'Sullivan was stunned by a few superb defenses, even snooker, and achieved an almost impossible reversal. This is another classic quote that reflects the true meaning of the sport of snooker. This left a psychological shadow on Robertson, who played the final inning, Robertson actually had a rare error when hitting the ball, and O'Sullivan scored a 77 after hitting the ball to end the 18-inning match.
It was a wonderful and classic game, but the "Rockets", who won cheap and would not sell well, fired after the game again, and he was still the familiar Ronnie O'Sullivan who was arrogant and willful. After giving his opponent Robertson a compliment, O'Sullivan said: "Some of the other great players haven't won many games since they were 30, so it's good to just play at 46. Although the Rockets' words are short, it is inevitable that fans will think of "the emperor of billiards", hendry, who is also one of his fateful opponents, of course, you can also refer to Higgins, whatever you think, anyway, I am saying, this is O'Sullivan's personality, unceremoniously.
The Rockets followed with another boastful statement: "Players like me and Alex Higgins (this Higgins doesn't mean "Wizard" John Higgins, but O'Sullivan's teacher) are unpredictable, and we play just looking for a feeling, and when you find that feeling... bang！ It was a wonderful feeling that everything was starting to take off again. Only with certain sports, people have that kind of thing. Tiger Woods, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Lionel Messi, they're going to bring something that will fascinate you. When I set out again, I had that feeling — I guess that's why people are attracted to me. ”
O'Sullivan concluded, "I'd rather play well and lose, or play a good game than play bad and win." This is his summary of his own style and way of playing, and O'Sullivan knows himself very well. That's right, this is "Rocket", the most talented in the field of snooker, and at the same time the most egotistical and maverick.
Text/Beiqing Sports Liu Ailin