Ronnie O’Sullivan will commemorate a key moment in his illustrious snooker career as he returns to competition at the International Championship in Nanjing on Sunday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
The seven-time world champion faces fellow Englishman Allan Taylor in the first round ironically the same opponent against whom O’Sullivan hit his 15th career 147 at the English Open in 2018, sealing a 4–0 victory in Crawley.
That memorable maximum came seven years before his incredible feat in August, when he compiled two 147s in a single match the 16th and 17th of his career during a 6–3 semi-final win over Chris Wakelin at the Saudi Arabia Masters. The performance earned him £147,000, plus a share of the highest break bonus, far eclipsing the modest £2,000 from his 2018 maximum.
O’Sullivan was set to meet Taylor earlier this year at the Wuhan Open but opted out as part of his scaled-back playing schedule. Despite his past criticism of the Crawley venue famously calling it a “hellhole” that “smelled of urine” that 2018 event produced one of his most iconic moments, celebrated by a roaring crowd after he coolly sank the black to complete perfection.
Reflecting on that day, O’Sullivan said, “I knew from the first red I was going for it. I just needed something to get myself excited.”
Since his near-miss in the Saudi Arabia Masters final, where he narrowly lost 10–9 to Neil Robertson, O’Sullivan has reached two other quarter-finals this season. However, he has declined an invitation to next month’s Champion of Champions in Leicester, despite qualifying through his world ranking.
O’Sullivan has yet to lift the International Championship trophy. His best-of-11 opener against Taylor begins at 06:00 UK time on Sunday, with the winner advancing to face Sanderson Lam in the last 64.
Fans can watch all the action live and on demand via TNT Sports and discovery+.
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