GET A MOVE RON
Rocket needs record soon warns Davis
STEVE DAVIS reckons Ronnie O’Sullivan has to win a record eighth World Championship sooner rather than later.
The six-time world champion knows exactly what it is like to decline as age catches up with you.
Davis ruled the baize in the 1980s but won his last Crucible crown aged 31 before Stephen Hendry took the mantle and dominated for the next decade.
Even Hendry, a seven-time winner, was 30 when he last scaled the Sheffield mountain.
The evergreen Rocket, 48, has stretched the barrier of what is possible in the sport with his incredible longevity. O’Sullivan, whose quest for glory was ended with a shock quarter-final defeat to Stuart Bingham, is the oldest winner of all three of the game’s Triple Crown majors.
But Davis, now 66, said: “He’s got a great chance for the next couple of years.
“I don’t know how long he can stay fighting fit as he gets into his 50s. That would be astonishing. If anybody could, it’s him because he’s so fit.
“Somewhere down the line the wheels fall off or his enthusiasm runs down. He’s only got a certain amount of years to do it.
“It’s astonishing that he could climb ever higher and higher.”
O’Sullivan stands head and shoulders above his peers in terms of majors (23), ranking titles (41), maximum breaks (15) and is the only player to make more than 1,000 centuries.
The world title record is the only scratch left to itch for the Chigwell cueman.
Davis, now a BBC pundit, added: “Eight would be the absolute icing on the cake for him. Nobody disputes he’s the best player they’ve ever seen. “He’s got the right attitude to records, he doesn’t say he wants them, but if it happens he will be proud of it.”
Ray Reardon is the oldest ranking event champion winning the World Open aged 50 and 14 days.
O’Sullivan, the new world No.4 said: “Can I win a World Championship at 50, who knows?
“Let’s see, let’s have an experiment.”