Ronnie O’Sullivan will swap the green baize for the silver screen next month when the behind-the-scenes story of his quest to claim a record-equalling seventh World Snooker Championship is released in the UK.
‘Ronnie O’Sullivan: The Edge of Everything’ has been produced by David Beckham’s Studio 99, and the initial cinematic release on November 21 is preceded by a special Q&A with the former Manchester United and England star.
Explaining his decision to add to the canon of sporting documentaries, O’Sullivan said: “My highs and lows have been well-documented by the media but I felt like now was the right time to do something more definitive – something that I can look back and reflect on as I contemplate retirement.
“Going into my seventh World Championship I wasn’t sure I had it in me but allowing the cameras in gave me perspective and was a strange catharsis.”
The film, which is directed by Sam Blair, who was behind ‘Maradona 86’ and others, will subsequently be released on Prime Video on November 23, before opening in select cinemas nationwide the following day.
O’Sullivan revealed how the filming of the documentary had helped give him a new “perspective”, shortly after he provided it with a fairytale finish in 2022 with his emotional final victory over Judd Trump.
“I’ve given complete access to the point where if you put a fly on the wall and followed me for 17 days, that’s basically what happened,” O’Sullivan said at the time.
“They’ve been in my dressing room, they’ve been in my hotel room before and after matches and sessions. I embraced it because whatever I get involved in, let’s just make it the best I could possibly do.
“These snooker Gods, their timing is unbelievable. Last year I just hit fire at the right time when they (the cameras) were here, and the stars were written for me. They always have been ever since I was a kid in this game.”
'A true gentleman' - Tributes pour in for former England manager Eriksson
Tributes from across the football world have flooded in after the news that Sven-Goran Eriksson has died, aged 76, on Monday.
Eriksson, who was England's first foreign manager, revealed earlier this year that he had been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.
His former clubs, England and UEFA, have expressed their condolences, along with countless players and managers as they honoured the Swede's life and career.
David Beckham was named Three Lions captain in 2001 by Eriksson, captaining the side 57 times under the Swede.
"We laughed, we cried, and we knew we were saying goodbye," Beckham said.
"Sven, thank you for always being the person you have always been - passionate, caring, calm and a true gentleman.
"I will be forever grateful for you making me your captain, but I will forever hold these last memories of this day with you and your family... Thank you, Sven, and in your last words to me 'It will be ok'."
Wayne Rooney was handed his England debut by Eriksson as a 17-year-old and described him as a "special man".
"Rest in peace, Sven," he said on X.
"Thanks for the memories and all your help and advice. Thoughts and prayers with all his family and friends."
Eriksson led England to three major quarter-finals in his five-year spell as manager, at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2004.
He oversaw 67 games in charge of the Three Lions, with only Walter Winterbottom (139), Alf Ramsey (113), Gareth Southgate (102) and Bobby Robson (95) leading the team on more occasions.
The national side published a tribute to their former manager, saying: "We are deeply saddened that Sven-Goran Eriksson, who managed the Three Lions from 2001 to 2006, has passed away aged 76.
"Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time. Rest in peace, Sven. You will be greatly missed."
Eriksson managed 12 clubs, winning 18 trophies across his career, with Swedish side Gothenburg the first top-flight club he managed.
He won four trophies during his three-year stay between 1979 and 1982, including the UEFA Cup.
"We are so grateful for his deed, the one he did in IFK Gothenburg and for Swedish football," the club said in a statement.
"We are also happy that we were able to thank him this spring, both with a match in his honour and by naming one of our stands at Gamla Ullevi after him."
He also had spells in charge of Benfica, Lazio, Manchester City and Leicester City. The clubs sent their condolences, with Lazio holding a minute's silence for their former manager at training.
Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who played under Eriksson at Notts County, Man City and Leicester, posted a heartfelt tribute.
"It feels very strange to have to write this, and I feel like I've had to write too many of these over the years. It was only yesterday evening that I sat and watched the documentary about his life. And what a life! We have lost an incredible man to whom I owe a great deal," he said.
"Sven was the first manager to truly believe in me and give me a chance at the highest level. He was the first manager to call me world-class, and he made me feel 10 feet tall.
"He gave me my Premier League debut, brought me to Notts County, and finally to Leicester, where I enjoyed the best time of my career. It is a great loss to football and the world. I want to thank him for everything he did for me."
Beckham: Man Utd's problems have lasted 'too long'
David Beckham believes Manchester United’s issues have lasted "too long" since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The Red Devils have won just four major trophies since Ferguson’s departure, with their most recent – an EFL Cup win last season – ending a six-year wait for silverware.
United have not won a Premier League title since the Scot’s final season in charge, with six managers failing to reclaim the top-flight crown since then.
This season, Erik ten Hag’s side are at risk of recording their lowest league finish and points tally, as they sit eighth on 54 points with two games remaining.
Beckham, who won 13 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, told The Athletic: "I think it has been a difficult time over the last five or ten years, but it was always going to be when the boss left the club.
"It wasn’t just that, we lost players like Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Gary Neville, all of these players that had been at United for so long; you lose part of that, and you lose part of the club.
"So it was always going to be a difficult time. But we’d like it to change pretty quickly because I think it’s gone on for too long now."
United have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), with nine of those coming at Old Trafford – their joint-most at home in a season and the first time it has happened in the Premier League.
Their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday marked the first time they had conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions since October 2021, while the 82 goals they have let in this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).
Beckham was speaking at the premiere of 99, the Amazon Prime documentary covering United’s iconic treble-winning season 25 years ago.
Ronnie O’Sullivan dismisses talk of greatness ahead of World Championship opener
Ronnie O’Sullivan shrugged off suggestions of greatness on the eve of his bid to eclipse Stephen Hendry and become the first player to win eight world snooker titles in the modern era.
O’Sullivan is already routinely described as the best player to pick up a cue after a record-breaking career that includes eight Masters and eight UK titles within a total of 41 ranking tournament wins.
But the 48-year-old, who starts his first round match against Welsh qualifier Jackson Page on Wednesday, has never been one to pore over the record books, and questions whether such plaudits are worth having at all.
“I don’t regard myself as the greatest of all time,” said O’Sullivan. “Statistically I suppose I am, but I’m just happy to be playing.
“I suppose as a kid I would have been desperate to be up with those guys but when you get there it’s a bit of an anti-climax – it’s not as great as you thought it would be.”
O’Sullivan, who won his first world title in 2001, currently sits on seven alongside Hendry, with Davis and Ray Reardon one behind on six wins each.
Yet while the title-winning eras of those fellow greats spanned less than a decade, O’Sullivan’s longevity, which shows all the signs of pushing on beyond a quarter of a century, makes the reign of the ‘Rocket’ indisputably unique.
“I’ve had a different career to them,” added O’Sullivan. “They just did it over a 10-year period while I’ve sort of gone off track for five or six years, then got myself back together, then disappeared for another three years, then got myself back together again.
“I was a bit all over the shop really, stuff going on off the table that can affect how you perform. Hendry and Davis had everything fitted around them to focus on snooker, but that’s how it worked out for me, so I’ve had to go on longer.”
“I love playing, I enjoy it. I get to travel where I want, take time off when I want, be my own boss. It’s those little things, and you want to win because competitiveness has always been in me.
Amid more top-level retirement talk, with Mark Selby the latest to question his future in the sport after his first round defeat to Joe O’Connor, O’Sullivan appears to be heading back to the Crucible intent on many more attempts to increase his legacy.
He has linked up with a new coach and is clearly putting the effort in ahead of his opener against 22-year-old Page, who beat Barry Hawkins on his Crucible debut two years ago before suffering a heavy defeat to Mark Williams in round two.
O’Sullivan added: “I love playing, I enjoy it. I get to travel where I want, take time off when I want, be my own boss. It’s those little things, and you want to win because competitiveness has always been in me.
“I’m pretty cool with what I’ve done and I’d like to keep winning more. Whether that makes me the greatest or not, I don’t know. It really doesn’t matter.”
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