In the final of the 2022 World Snooker Championships, O'Sullivan defeated Trump 18-13 to win the World Championship for the seventh time, tying Hendry and tied for first place in history.
When the last super-score was in the bag, the audience couldn't wait to celebrate in advance, yes, as he wished, as you and I wished, O'Sullivan finally lifted the World Championship crown for the seventh time at the age of 46, 21 years after winning the first title at the Crucible Theatre.
Excited, excited, every fan on the scene screamed loudly. The camera follows O'Sullivan as he walks toward Trump in relief, giving his opponent a long hug, saying something in the junior's ear, and when he reappears, he sees a pair of tearful eyes. At this moment, O'Sullivan, who always has an arrogant face, has no sharp personality at all, and just when the host evaluates him as "the best in history without a doubt" and "the oldest world champion", O'Sullivan showed the most sincere and touching tears in front of the world.
The Seven World Championships is a milestone, O'Sullivan equaled the "billiards emperor" Hendry once unsurpassed record, but O'Sullivan's milestone is far more than this one. On the list of the traditional three major competitions (World Championships, British Championships and Masters), O'Sullivan gathered "seven sets of champions" to top the list with 21 titles; his 70th victory in Crucible, tied with Hendry, became the player who won the most courts in Crucible; his total number of individual ranking titles reached an unprecedented 39, becoming the world number one at the end of the season for the seventh time, equaling Selby, behind Hendry's nine times.
"I've never cared much about records. Don't get me wrong, it's really good to do it, but I've never been able to perform well in the pursuit of this. Referring to the records that can only be looked up to by future generations, O'Sullivan's post-match statement sounds so familiar, I just enjoy the game, the competition and the arena, enjoy what I do, I train the skills, and then let the god of snooker decide what he has to decide - he has been on my side for 17 days. 」 ”
As O'Sullivan summed up, the 17-day trip to Crucible was indeed easy, the attack was unstoppable, and the defense could be high and watertight. His victory over Maguire in the second round against Allen in the quarter-finals was like chopping melons and chopping vegetables. In the semi-finals against Higgins, O'Sullivan won four straight sets while trailing 4-5 to easily beat Higgins 17-11. In the final, O'Sullivan did not give Trump too many chances, he was in the lead after 1-1, and in the last set he forced Trump to show his flaws through a good defense, and closed the victory with a single shot of 85 points.
"He dominated the World Championships from start to finish, and it was a feat of four-seaters. He may not have been under any pressure, it was because he played too well and he refused to let others put pressure on him. Hendry said from the bottom of his heart after the game, "He said he didn't care about the record, but he would want the 8th." ”
But people are passionate about O'Sullivan, not just because he is a champion, he is maverick and unruly. In the fourth set of the game, O'Sullivan was not satisfied with the referee Mathilier's repositioning of the mother ball after a failed solution, and after a few discussions between the two, O'Sullivan simply handed the club to Mathil, and his body language revealed his heart: "You play this ball and try it."
At the end of the eighth inning, O'Sullivan's clashes with the referee escalated. O'Sullivan made himself a snooker shot during the clean-up stage, and the always grumpy man quickly uncorrected the ball, but this move once again made the referee Mathil give a direct warning. No wonder Mathil was dissatisfied, after all, the "Rockets" came out too quickly, and Mathil, who restored the white ball, naturally could not determine the original position of the white ball. O'Sullivan certainly responded "grumpy", but it was more like an outlet for dissatisfaction with the previous inning. Before the game entered the stage break, O'Sullivan hurried away without shaking hands with Mathil.
The grumpy O'Sullivan tossed and turned, and his mind was never elusive. Just as he deliberately hit a 146 after learning from the referee that there was no prize money for the perfect score, and once announced his semi-retirement and only participated in one game a season, of course, his beauty is that most of the time, his emotions do not seem to affect his defeat of opponents, and he is still an unstoppable good guy on the field.
Now, the long-debated topic of "O'Sullivan or Hendry who is stronger" in billiard circles has become a thing of the past. From his first victory in 2001 to his seventh today's summit, O'Sullivan has gone from a 25-year-old boy to a 46-year-old fire teacher with white sideburns. But O'Sullivan's career is hard to see in the twilight.
But over the years, O'Sullivan has also "thanked" the next generation of snooker leaders like Trump. It was like he tapped Trump on the back after the game, and everything he wanted to say was in this hug. "Finally I gave him (Trump) a big hug and sobbed in his arms. He said something very warm to me, he was a really good guy, and it wasn't until this moment that I realized how he saw me. It's fantastic for Snooker to have him. ”
Their generation's story has been told for 30 years, and while it looks like O'Sullivan's story still has some ends to tell, he clearly wants to see a new generation of players come up. Just as he will break the tradition of snooker and spare no effort to coach young players like Zhao Xintong, in his mouth, he is still happy to see young people in the sport who are constantly able to emerge.
"In my opinion, Judd is already the best ever, he is a dynamic player, he will win this tournament a few more times, and the other players can perform well!" O'Sullivan said.
Wen | Yang Zhonghua
Edit | Fat Cat