Winner takes all

With current domination by O’Sullivan in his hand picked tournaments, players are struggling to earn  titles outside Ronnie free finals. This begs the question of whether any player has the ability to match his A, B and C games in totatality? My theory is that players have far too much respect for O’Sullivan and should clear this weakness from their minds. By adopting this attitude, you fall into Ronnie’s trap of immortality.

Ronnie definitely has chinks in his armour and has shown in early round matches that when he is not in the right mind set, he can lose to any ranked player. However the main problem with other players in my opinion is a confidence issue. Players such as Ding, Selby, Robertson and Allen become like a rabbit in the headlights when they play Ronnie and their all round game flounders. Like a predator, Ronnie preys on this weakness and like a boxer on the ropes, keeps punching until his opponent falls in the ring.

Until these hurdles are crossed, no player can match Ronnie’s game, a bold statement even for me, who has been constantly critical of O’Sullivan. To beat Ronnie, you have to break down his game and strip back his strengths. Only Selby and Trump seem capable of this but have only managed it when O’Sullivan is playing his B game. A missed pot, the lack of long range potting and mistakes when in the balls causes this player to become a human hoover, sucking up every ball in sight.

O’Sullivan showed in Sunday’s final against Robertson that he is fearless and sees other players, bar Higgins who he seems to respect, as inferior. This is an arrogant attitude but probably one that he has cooked up with his sports psychologist, Steve Peters, a way of achieving his goals. Ronnie now has 1000 career centuries, trouncing Hendry’s record. Put with this the fact that O’ Sullivan will be entering the Gibraltar Open this weekend and has his sights on another World Championship title.

Despite these gloomy facts, not all is lost. The talent is definitely there in the other 127 players and it is a fact that the standard of play has been raised since the glory days of the 1980s. These players can triumph in tournaments but they have to nurture their game but at a faster pace.They will have to have  a full set of oiled gears and a functioning brake to win. Only then will the silverware be won and Ronnie’s dominance be broken.