Ronnie O’Sullivan heads to the Shanghai Masters as the defending champion yet again, with the last time he lost at the tournament an increasingly dim and distant memory.
The Rocket has won all three editions of the Shanghai Masters since it became a non-ranking event in 2018, and he won the final ranking event version the year before.
The last time O’Sullivan was beaten at the Shanghai Masters was back in September 2016 when he was downed by Michael Holt in the second round. Remarkably that was the second of three straight wins the Hitman scored over the Rocket that year.
Since then, Holt has become a ranking event winner, dropped off tour, spent two years as an amateur and now returned to the professional ranks. Since then, O’Sullivan has won two World Championships, three UK Championships and cemented his place as snooker’s GOAT.
When the Rocket last lost at the Shanghai Masters Theresa May had recently become PM and Sam Allardyce was soon to be sacked as England manager.
The list of players he has beaten in the event since he last lost is daft. In chronological order it reads: Christopher Keogan (remember him?), Gary Wilson, Joe Perry, Barry Hawkins, Mark Williams, John Higgins, Judd Trump, Neil Robertson, Stuart Bingham, Kyren Wilson, Barry Hawkins (again), Zhang Yi, Kyren Wilson (again), Neil Robertson (again), Shaun Murphy, Ali Carter, John Higgins (again), Mark Selby and Luca Brecel.
O’Sullivan’s aggregate score since last losing at the Shanghai Masters stands 140-73.
While O’Sullivan has done pretty much everything in his sport, it is actually quite rare for him to dominate a tournament over a stretch of time. His brilliance has been his epic longevity over three-plus decades more than his overwhelming dominance at any stage,
Six finals in seven years at the Masters, with three titles in that spell from 2004-10 was impressively dominant, while he used to make the old Premier League his own, so it has happened, but his control of Shanghai is as good as any dominance he has achieved.
As his list of vanquished foes in Shanghai illustrates, it is pretty much only top competition that O’Sullivan has faced in this event and he has overcome it all.
It is often said of O’Sullivan that it is these kind of events suit him and the Shanghai Masters in its current form is as good an example as any.
A small field of top performers, one-table, high profile, big prize money, the players well looked after by the promoters. The Rocket soars in these tournaments more than the full 128-player ranking events played over multiple tables and more days.
Of course, these are conditions that any top player wants. It’s not like Judd Trump or Mark Selby struggles with this kind of set-up, but it proves the quality of O’Sullivan that when conditions are at their best, he regularly proves that he is the best.
So can he do it again this week? The bookmakers have him as favourite to make it five on the spin in Shanghai.
The world number five gets his campaign underway on Tuesday against teenage wildcard Zhou Jinhao, which should be no problem for the Rocket, who appears very dialled into his snooker over the summer.
After World Championship disappointment due to a quarter-final defeat to Stuart Bingham, O’Sullivan had little time off, touring the world with exhibition matches against the likes of John Higgins, Ding Junhui and Gary Wilson.
He stopped by at the Championship League for a day of match practice and has been at Victoria’s Academy in Sheffield playing the resident professionals.
O’Sullivan may be turning 49 this year but he is not slowing down and heading to his most reliable event, looks as firm a favourite as ever.
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