Impressive as Ronnie's performances had been early on, they were a mere appetiser for what was to come when he hit the ripe old age of 15.

Ronnie lost in the final of the UK Amateur championship, but along the way achieved a remarkable feat.

He made a maximum 147 break - becoming the youngest player ever to do so in a recognised environment.

Ronnie left school mid-way through his final year and shortly after became a professional snooker player.

His entry into the sport was nothing short of sensational.

Between 1992-1993, in his first year in the circuit, Ronnie sent records tumbling.

Ronnie piles on the points

He won 47 out of 76 matches, which included a winning streak of 38 successive victories, overhauling the previous best held by Stephen Hendry.

Hendry was also on the receiving end as Ronnie beat the Scot to become the youngest winner of a world ranking event.

Aged 17 years and 11 months, Ronnie was crowned UK champion.

During this time, Ronnie recorded 5-0 victories over his opponents 22 times - one of the whitewashes came in Blackpool in a time of 43 minutes.

That beat Tony Drago's record for the quickest win.

It was soon afterwards that MC Alan Hughes gave Ronnie the nickname of "The Rocket".

In 1993, Ronnie was named WBSA Young Player of the Year and Player of the Year a 12 months later.

In April of 1994, he beat James Wattana to claim his second major title - the British Open.

Two more UK Championships followed in 1997 and 2001 - the latter proved to be the defining year for Ronnie.

It was then that Ronnie captured the World Championship - a title which has even eluded his hero, another supremely naturally gifted player, Jimmy White.

There were some ups and downs for Ronnie after that but he came roaring back to form at Sheffield in 2004.

He romped to a second world title after a convincing 18-8 win over Scotland's Graeme Dott and secured his place at the top of the rankings as the No1 snooker player in the world.

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