TNT Sports
Ronnie O’Sullivan: Plot twist as 'fastest century ever' downgraded after timing review at Scottish Open
By
Published 28/11/2022 at 21:22 GMT
Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan produced something special in the second frame of his first-round match at the Scottish Open against Bai Langning when he completed a century in just over three minutes. O’Sullivan was flying around the table while referee Rob Spencer struggled to keep up. Stream the 2022 Scottish Open and more top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+.
Image credit: TNT Sports
Ronnie O’Sullivan appeared to have made more snooker history by making the fastest televised century at the Scottish Open - only for the timekeepers to admit the initial announcement was wrong.
O'Sullivan's break against Bai Langning was initially clocked at three minutes and 24 seconds and seemingly surpassed Tony Drago's mark of three minutes and 31 seconds from 1996.
However, World Snooker Tour later said that his break was actually three minutes and 34 seconds, leaving him agonisingly short of the record.
For most of the shots on the reds, O’Sullivan was ready to hit the cue ball while referee Rob Spencer was still placing the colour back on its spot.
It was a remarkable frame of snooker, even by the seven-time world champion’s standards and reminded fans of his record-breaking 147 in five minutes and eight seconds from the 1997 World Championship, which many believe is impossible to beat.
“I just felt like I needed to speed up a bit and try and enjoy it a bit,” said O’Sullivan about his century in Edinburgh.
Neil Robertson, who took to the baize after O’Sullivan’s match, couldn’t believe how fast The Rocket was playing.
“Oh my word,” Robertson said in the Eurosport studio following his 4-1 win over Mark Davis.
“I think in Northern Ireland earlier this season my match was for not before 8pm but I didn’t get on until 10pm. So sometimes you can be in the player’s lounge for two hours and it’s awful doing nothing.
“The hotel is just a five minute drive away, so I’m just keeping an eye on the score and saw Ronnie was 2-0 up.
“I’m like, ‘Alright I’ll get the taxi down’. Then as soon as I hopped into the taxi it’s 3-0, I’m thinking, ‘What is going on here!’”
O’Sullivan, who played at an exhibition event with Jimmy White in Bulgaria at the weekend, looked like he was trying to play as fast as he could.
Eurosport commentator and former player Neal Foulds was astounded by what he was seeing.
“This is quite remarkable,” said Foulds during the break.
“I wonder if that is the quickest century break ever made. I can’t imagine there has been a quicker one.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a quicker century break in the history of the game than this."
Philip Studd added: “This has been a blur of brilliance from O’Sullivan even by his standards.
“It’s taken the breath away. That was whirlwind stuff from The Rocket Ronnie O’Sullivan to the delight of this capacity crowd here in Edinburgh. He doubles his lead in style.”
Unsurprisingly, O'Sullivan soon completed a swift 4-0 win over Bai. and is back in action on Tuesday at 7pm against Ben Woollaston.
- - -
Stream the 2022 Scottish Open and more top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+.
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement