Date of birth: 5/12/75
World ranking: 2
Career earnings: �2,709,752
2001-2002 points: 18900

World champion, Ronnie O'Sullivan thrashed Ken Doherty in the final of December's UK Championship to enter an elite group of fellow professionals.

He joined Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, John Parrott and John Higgins as the only men to have won the World and UK Championships in the same year.

The "Rocket" is hailed as a genius by followers of the game and was even dubbed the Mozart of Snooker by Peter Ebdon.

O'Sullivan had already proved he could beat the best earlier last year when he won the World Championship at the Crucible.

He beat John Higgins 18-14 in the final of the tournament to end the 'world title' hoodoo that had haunted him for so long.

In fact the entire 2000-2001 season was a dream from start to finish for London's finest.

Just months after being treated for depression, O'Sullivan was storming to victory in the Champions Cup.

He followed up with successes in the Regal Scottish Masters and China Open.

Extra gear

O'Sullivan was the youngest, at 17, to win a ranking tournament - beating Stephen Hendry at the 1993 UK Championship.

Ever since, the public had eagerly waited for O'Sullivan to go one step further and lift the world crown.

He won the UK title for the second time in 1997 and then reached the semi-finals of the Embassy World Championships in 1998 and 1999.

But he struggled to find that extra gear and temperament to defeat John Higgins and Stephen Hendry.

O'Sullivan has lit up the world of snooker with his natural ability and his showman performances.

He compiled the fastest 147, five minutes and 20 seconds, against Mick Price at Sheffield's Crucible back in 1997.

Having turned 26 during that UK Championships success in York, O'Sullivan clearly has plenty of time to cement himself as the greatest player the sport has ever seen.