Ronnie O'Sullivan makes 1,000th century break to win Players Championship in Preston
Over 30 years after rattling in his first century break at the age of 10, O'Sullivan registered his 1,000th career ton in style on Sunday night
By Raz Mirza
Last Updated: 10/03/19 9:33pm
Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Players Championship 10-4 against Neil Robertson, clinching the title by winning the final frame with a break of 134 for his 1,000th century.
O'Sullivan retained his crown by demolishing Robertson in the final on Sunday, collecting a cheque of £125,000.
O'Sullivan, who has bizarrely been adopting an Australian accent in post-match interviews since his quarter-final win over Barry Hawkins, became the first player to make 1,000 century breaks in competition and celebrated his win by acknowledging his opponent.
The 43-year-old told ITV4 in his English accent: "I knew I had to play well and I played brilliantly today and to cap it off with a thousand centuries is great.
"Neil is one of the nicest human beings on the circuit so for me that means more and Snooker is lucky to have somebody like Neil playing the game. I made a century with an opponent I have a lot of respect for.
"This is one of the best venues we get to play in and when you put top-quality players in top-quality venues you will get top-quality Snooker and that's what the Guild Hall is."
The Rocket claimed his 35th career ranking title and landmark break in typical O'Sullivan style with a standing ovation for every shot after surpassing the historic 100-point mark.
