Ronnie O’Sullivan raised the bar and showed he is ‘snooker’s greatest asset’ with triumph at UK Championship

How many more times can the bar be raised?

The crowd inside the Barbican Centre were in awe as O’Sullivan crunched in long pots, exercised perfect positional control and sank ball after ball to move from 7-7 with Ding Junhui to run out a 10-7 winner. The final three frames lasted 32 minutes.

Now, on the eve of his 48th birthday, he is the oldest. When the audience in York rose to acclaim him, they did so recognising they had witnessed something close to magic, a mercurial burst of inspiration only possible from sport’s true greats.

It means a 40th ranking title, four more than Hendry in second place. O’Sullivan’s eighth UK Championship triumph is one of 22 ‘Triple Crown’ titles to his name. He extends his lead at the head of the rankings. In every possible measure, he is the greatest.

Standing next to him at the trophy celebration was Steve Dawson, the chairman of World Snooker Tour, whose organisation can take credit for an excellent event, well promoted, with record ticket sales and an enjoyable vibe throughout.

Whoever is right or wrong in that debate, the facts are plain: O’Sullivan is snooker’s greatest asset. We need him playing as much as possible. Off table rows are distractions that we could all do without and it’s doubtful most ordinary fans care about those issues.

What they want is to watch Ronnie play snooker. WST should do everything to ensure he feels able to continue doing that in established tournaments which have meaning, rather than in exhibitions which have little.

O’Sullivan is hardly a blameless character but has more than earned the right to have his say about the sport, how it is run and what he wants to prioritise going forward.

He has become a huge draw in Asia, where promoters are willing to pay for his presence in exhibitions and tournaments. Anyone watching last night’s final will consider this money well spent.

If the weekly grind of tournament life is less to his liking these days then this is hardly surprising, but it’s clear he still gets himself up for the big occasions. More importantly, he is still capable of thriving in such occasions.

As for O’Sullivan’s week in York, he was not at his brilliant best all through the event, but does not need to be when opponents freeze at the prospect of beating him.

Robert Milkins had three chances to do so in their decider. Zhou Yuelong had him on the ropes at 5-4 but made little impact on the last two frames. Hossein Vafaei had played the snooker of the week going into the semi-finals but wilted in the presence of The Rocket.

This is the aura of greatness which surrounds O’Sullivan. It gives him almost superhuman strength while sending the legs of rivals to jelly. Even when things are going badly wrong, the very fact of who he is, what he has done and what he is capable of makes the difference.

To Ding’s credit, he fought hard and put pressure on. At 7-7, the final was firmly in the balance. He did not do much – if anything – wrong in the closing three frames, which went by in a blur of brilliance.

Ding had to qualify for York but is now back where he belongs, as a member of the top 16 and qualified for the key events coming up in early 2024.

So what is next in the compelling drama that is Ronnie O’Sullivan’s career?

Soon, the drumbeat towards the Crucible, where he will be attempting to win a record eighth world title, will begin.

His great friend and fellow Eurosport pundit, Jimmy White, believes he can get to 10 victories in each triple crown event. Such numbers seem fanciful on paper, but performances like those against Ding make you think again.

It seems every apparent last hurrah is succeeded by another. This remarkable, unique sporting figure just keeps amazing us.

How many more times can the bar be raised? Over to you, Ronnie…