WORLD SNOOKER PLAYER PROFILES

O'Sullivan - in the form of his life. (1) Ronnie O'Sullivan World Ranking: 1 Provisional Ranking: 1 Date Of Birth: 05/12/75 World Championship Best: Winner - 2001, 2004 O'Sullivan's 18-8 destruction of Graeme Dott in last year's World Championship final was the sort of performance snooker experts had been expecting of the 'Rocket' since he turned professional in 1992. Long hailed as the most naturally gifted player the game has ever seen O'Sullivan has built on his second World Championship with a commanding season of snooker. Under the guidance of Ray Reardon the 29-year-old has produced a series of fearsome potting displays and admits he is in the form of his life. O'Sullivan's nailbiting victory over Steven Hendry in the Welsh Open final, a title he retained from the previous year, was another demonstration that he is now also willing to scrap for a victory when up against it. But it was his form in the Rileys Club Masters that will have struck fear into his opponents. O'Sullivan steamrolled his way through the competition before dominating the final to such an extent that John Higgins potted just one ball in the final three frames. Following his 10-3 victory O'Sullivan acknowledged: "That's probably as well as I've ever played." This season has also seen Ronnie triumph in the totesport Grand Prix and most recently the Irish Masters. While O'Sullivan's mental resolve has improved immensely he is still susceptible to the odd erratic performance, a bizarre Malta Cup defeat to Dott being the prime example. In a mouthwatering opening match in Sheffield O'Sullivan has been drawn against rising star Stephen Maguire - a man who has already beaten him twice this season. O'Sullivan, who beat Maguire at the Crucible last season, will be heavily backed to claim his third World Championship should he progress past this early test. Should he do that, with exception of Jimmy White, there will be no more popular victor with the Crucible crowd. O'Sullivan at his scintillating best is a class apart from anyone else currently playing the game and is to snooker what the Brazil 1970 World Cup side is to football. Should he put in a performance akin to the one he did at Wembley then O'Sullivan will further cement his reputation as one of the game's greats.