January 8th 2024.
Ronnie O'Sullivan won an eighth UK Championship title in December, a feat that Barry Hearn, the president of Matchroom Sport, says is scarcely believable. He is full of respect for the Rocket and believes he still has plenty more chapters left to add to his story. Hearn also praised O'Sullivan for his enduring impact on the sport.
"We have to give him all the credit in the world," said Hearn. "It takes some believing that a guy at 48 is still so competitive. He has his moments, of course, but he's no exception to all geniuses."
"It doesn't mean you have to agree with him, but you have to take your hat off to someone who is such a sustainable image of the game. He puts bums on seats and gets people all over the world saying, 'I want to watch this and I want to play this.'"
Hearn believes O'Sullivan is far from finished yet and hopes he embraces his role for his legacy. "I hope he embraces his role, when he looks back on his legacy he can say he was a great entertainer and changed the world of snooker," said Hearn.
Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport's chairman and Barry's son, is well aware of the importance of the Rocket. "You speak to any casual snooker fan, a sports fan, and asked them to tell you about snooker and the first thing they'd say to you is Ronnie O'Sullivan," said Eddie. "To see him in the UK Championship and going into the Masters, he is the one that is going to drive interest, drive ticket sales, drive viewing figures."
"He'll like to hear that because he'll like to know that he has that power, but he does, there's no point denying it, he's a star asset. But obviously Judd Trump has had a good year, Ding Junhui in the final and you need those standouts, you need those names to build characters."
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