I used to thrash Ronnie O’Sullivan at snooker all the time but he was only 12 and even then I could tell he was special
KEN DOHERTY has revealed what it was like to play a 12-year-old Ronnie O’Sullivan, and the scary potential he always had.
Speaking on Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips, 1997 world champion Doherty opened up on his time playing against O’Sullivan in his junior years.
He said: “When I moved to Essex in 1988 Ronnie used to come into the snooker club and ask me if would I practice with him and gives him a few tips. I said yeah.
“Now I was only about 18 and he was about 12 at the time, and his father used to say – cause he had a table at the bottom of the garden, he had a lovely snooker room – ‘would you come down and practice, I’ll send a taxi for you.’
“So he sent the taxi for me to Ilford to pick me up and I’d go down and play with him [Ronnie].
“There was one time I was in there, I beat him like 10-2. We used to play best of 19, go and make lunch and then we’d go out and play another best of 19.
“But he said ‘I can’t play this afternoon [because] I have a few things to do’ and I said ‘yeah no problem, just call the taxi and I’ll go back to snooker club’.
“So he called a taxi, I sat in the taxi and put my cue down but I’d forgotten my towel so said to hold on a minute.
“I’ve gone back into the snooker room and there he was practising and he got really embarrassed.
“I tell everybody I used to beat him 10-2, 10-3 every day. Now he was only 12 at the time but it still counts in my book. But even then watching him play he was amazing.”
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O’Sullivan more than made good on his potential, winning 39 ranked titles across his career so far, including seven world championships.
The Rocket is also the reigning world champion following his victory over Judd Trump in the final last year.
The 47-year-old even got revenge on Doherty back in 2001 as he thrashed him 10-1 in the UK Championship final.
Naturally, O’Sullivan has also crossed cues with Hendry.
The pair have faced off on six occasions in ranking finals, with O’Sullivan emerging victorious four times.