Running: The Autobiography
Page 24
I loved the final. It was the only match in the World Championship in which I thought I played really well. It wasn’t until the semi-finals that I got my energy back, and I thought, I’ve got a chance here. The first session in the final was good – I took a 2-0 lead, then he came back to 2-2 and I thought, we’ve got a game on here. Then he went 3-2 up, and it was the first time in the whole tournament I’d gone behind. I then had three really good breaks, two centuries, and I went 5-3 up, and I thought, lovely, we’re involved now! This is a proper ruck. I’ve set my stall out, let him know I’m here. I know that he’s there as well, so it was a good first sparring session.
I’ve never played really well in the second session in a final at Sheffield. The first session you’re all excited, it’s the final, you play really well, then the second session, on Sunday evening, always seems a bit of a come-down – you can’t win the tournament, but you can have a poor session and put yourself in a bad position for the next day. Sure enough, it did get a bit tense that Sunday night.
Last frame on the Saturday night I played a great snooker against Barry when I tucked him up behind the black. If I won the frame I’d be 10-7 up overnight; if I lost it the score would be 9-8. I would have been so disappointed if I’d lost it because I’d played well in the frame, but somehow it had come down to the colours. That would have hurt. Thankfully, I won it, and to go in 10-7 up was a massive boost.
Then, come Monday, I played great. In the afternoon I was dominant, cueing well and scoring from nowhere. In one frame I was 54 behind, 59 left on the table, and I cleared up with 56. The final red was really difficult – a long pot in the bottom corner, then I had to screw back for the blue. But that still left me with another long yellow. That went in really sweet. Boom. Which left me with a tricky green – against the bottom cushion – and I had to come back with side for the brown. The white landed perfectly, and that was that. Lovely. The frame was to go 12-8, and it was one of the best clearances I’ve ever made.
I was pleased with my patience – potting, making a few good breaks, then playing a few snookers. Rather than having to make it happen straightaway I thought, no, I’ll bide my time, and that gave me confidence. I played well on the Monday afternoon, and I just thought, okay, we’ll have more of that on the Monday evening. This was the test of my work with Steve Peters – I’d done it the year before so I knew I could do it; but would I be able to do it again? Barry came out, long red, and made 130. Then he won the next frame with a good break, and all of a sudden the score’s 15-12 and I’m getting a bit twitchy.
Next frame he was on 20-odd; he took on a tricky red, and I thought the way he’d been playing he obviously fancied it, so I didn’t expect him to miss it. But he did. I heard the roar from the crowd – disappointment from Barry’s fans, anticipation from mine – and I thought, right, I’ve got to win the frame in this visit. I made a 70-80, went 16-12, and won the next frame with another good break.
At 17-11 I went in for the interval needing only one frame to win, but my head wasn’t quite all there. After the final, Scouse John reminded me what I’d said to him.
‘What’s the score?’ I’d said.
‘Seventeen-twelve,’ he said.
‘So that means he’s got to win six frames on the trot to beat me.’
What Scouse John didn’t get was that I was being serious – for the whole 17 days I didn’t think I was good enough to win it. John thought I was taking the piss, but I wasn’t one bit. I thought there was every chance Barry could pull off six frames. As it happens, I came out and finished the match in style with a break of 77.
I picked the trophy up – very nice, thank you very much, five times world champion, first person to retain it since Stephen Hendry, proud moment. I was really happy. I’d achieved what for me was the impossible. To win it five times sunk in straightaway. When I wrote my first book 12 years ago, I’d just won the World Championship for the first time. Two years ago I’d won it three times. Not bad, but there’s a world of difference between winning it three times and winning it five times. Now I’m only one behind one of my all-time heroes, Steve Davis, and two behind Hendry.
My lasting memory is having little Ronnie on the table, jumping up in my arms and we’re smiling into the cameras. It doesn’t compare to the year before because in 2012 I’d had such a bad time personally and professionally I never thought I’d win it again, but it was still wonderful. There’s a lovely picture of me with one hand on the trophy, and little Ronnie standing on the table with one arm round my shoulders and another on the trophy. Beautiful.
In the after-match interview I caused another bit of controversy. Hazel Irvine said I’d made it look easy, but what had it actually been like behind the scenes and to whom did I owe a debt of gratitude? I said I didn’t think I’d have won back-to-back titles without the help of Steve Peters because; ‘Everyone knows me. I’m up and down like a whore’s drawers.’ Hazel didn’t know what to say. I’m not even sure she knew what I’d said – she just sensed it wasn’t something for prime-time telly. The audience burst out laughing. ‘I think we’ll forgive the industrial language,’ she said. ‘D’you want to rephrase that or just plough on?’
‘It’s a bit late, it’s live, Hazel!’ I said.
I thought it was funny because I knew Hazel would be thinking ahead to the next question and I thought I’d just throw it in there to see how she reacted. She came up to me the other day and said: ‘It did take me by shock because I was thinking of the next question and all of a sudden I heard the crowd and I thought, what’s he just said? And I had to deal with it.’
I also said I was planning to play in more of the little PTC events, and again there were lots of sceptics saying why would I want to do that when the prize money isn’t that great for winning them. But I love the small-time atmosphere of them, and also that they don’t last long, which is perfect for me. Whereas lots of the tournaments are 10 days to two weeks, and the World Championship is 17 gruelling days, these events start on Friday and you’re back home on Monday. So you keep your eye in, there’s not loads of pressure on, and you’re not away from home for ages. And if you love the game you love the game. It doesn’t have to be a World Championship for it to matter to you. You get around 20 grand for winning most of the events, so it’s decent money, but not like winning the World Championship, where you get 250 big ones. I can understand why people think I’m mad to want to play in these events, but my situation means I can’t be on the road 12 months a year. I want to see little Ronnie and Lily and still play regularly so I thought the best way to manage that balancing act was to play in a few of the smaller events and have a bit of fun. If you play just for the money you’re going to be screwed anyway. Sometimes, all money brings is misery.
A month on from winning the World Championship and I’m feeling good. I know I’m not the most positive fella in the world, and I’ll probably always struggle one way or another, but I also know I’m blessed. Blessed with great family and friends, beautiful children, good health, a strange gift for snooker, and blessed with a fan base that sometimes I’ve probably not deserved. I’ve also got a great girlfriend who’s brought stability to my life. Laila is an actress, probably best known for playing Amber Gates in Footballers’ Wives and Sahira Shah in Holby City. She also got to the semi-final of Strictly Come Dancing in 2009. She’s been a fantastic addition to my life. She’s been a good support, a calming influence on me. And I think we make for a good team. Her heart’s in the right place, she’s a good girl. She has enhanced my life. She’s got some great friends and she takes me out to places that I’ve never been before. She comes from a Moroccan Muslim background, and a lot of her friends are Moroccan. Most are not drinkers. They just talk rather than drink, and there’s a lovely openness to them – that’s the Moroccan mentality. Most of my friends are: ‘Yeah, go here, go there, do this, do that’, and that’s not for me. Laila’s brought a new world to my life. Like me, she doesn’t like the celebrity world. That’s one of
the things we’ve got in common. She’s a clever, shrewd girl, but she’s not into all the celebrity rubbish.
I’m also beginning to get into some media work; preparing for the end of my career whenever that comes, and I might even have a go at writing a novel. As I reach the end of this book, I’m planning my next year, have paid the school fees, have won the World Championship, got a bit of money in the bank, and have got my self-esteem back. And as for the running, I’m getting fit and beginning to look nicely gaunt again. In just over two years’ time, when I’m 40, I’ll be able to enter Masters races as a veteran, and then I can really make my mark. So, all in all, the whore’s drawers are back up, and with any luck they’ll stay that way.
INDEX
Adamson, Frank ref1
Alan (running friend) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Alcoholics Anonymous ref1
Alexandrouha, Tracey ref1, ref2, ref3
Ali, Muhammad ref1
Allen, Mark ref1
Athletics Weekly ref1
Baldry, Gary ref1
Barcelona football club ref1
BBC ref1, ref2, ref3
Bekele, Kennenisa ref1
Bekele, Tariku ref1
Bellamy, Craig ref1
Bingham, Stuart ref1
Blackpool ref1, ref2, ref3
Bobby (Scouse mate) ref1, ref2
Bounce ref1
Breaking Bad ref1
Brentwood Gazette ref1
Bronson, Charles ref1
Bryan, Bruce ref1
Caen ref1, ref2
Campbell, Marcus ref1, ref2
Carter, Ali ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4 see also World Championship: 2012
Challon, Mr (headmaster) ref1
Champions Cup ref1, ref2
Charlie (Scottish friend) ref1
Chick (friend) ref1, ref2
Chigwell ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Charlie Chans ref1
health food shop ref1
Lawlors estate agents ref1
Macey’s convenience store ref1
Manor Road ref1
children
Lily (daughter) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16, ref17, ref18, ref19, ref20, ref21, ref22, ref23, ref24
‘Little’ Ronnie (son) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16, ref17, ref18, ref19, ref20, ref21
Taylor (daughter) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Chimp Paradox, The ref1
China, the ‘famous nosh’ in ref1, ref2
China, tournaments in ref1
China Open ref1, ref2, ref3
Chinese Snooker Association ref1
Chip (Scottish friend) and son ref1
Chris, Irish (friend) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Cook, Peter ref1
cross-country races ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Cube, The ref1
Daily Mail ref1
Daniels, Rhys ref1
Davies, Chris ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
brother-in-law Mark and his sister Amanda ref1, ref2, ref3
wife Claire ref1, ref2, ref3
Davies, Terry ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Davis, Joe ref1, ref2
Davis, Steve ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15
as Ronnie’s hero ref1
Deacon Blue ref1
Dibaba, Tirunesh ref1, ref2
Ding Junhui ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Dino (jockey mate) ref1
Django (manager) see Fung, Django
Djokovic, Novak ref1, ref2
Doherty, Ken ref1
Doncaster young offenders’ prison ref1
Dott, Graham ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Doyle, Ian ref1
Ebdon, Peter ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Ecclestone, Bernie ref1
Eightlane website ref1
Embassy ref1 see also World Championship: 2004
Epping 5k race ref1
Epping Forest ref1
10k race ref1
Epping Forest Country Club ref1
Epping Forest farm ref1
teenage boys at ref1, ref2
woman worker at ref1
Epping fun run ref1
Eshatu, Sentayehu ref1
Essex, reputation of ref1
Essex cross-country race ref1, ref2
Ethiopia ref1, ref2
European Open ref1
Fagin, Patsy ref1
Families Need Fathers ref1
Farah, Mo ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Federer, Roger ref1
Ferrari car ref1
Flight, Chrisy ref1
Food Anonymous ref1
France, running holiday in ref1
Francis, Jason ref1
Francisco, Silvino ref1
Fu, Marco ref1
Fung, Django ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
Gauvreau, Marcel ref1
‘Gay Robbie’ (Scottish friend) ref1, ref2
Gebrselassie, Haile ref1
Genn, Antony ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
George (best mate) ref1
German Masters ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Glenn (cousin) ref1
Grey, David ref1
Griffiths, Terry ref1, ref2, ref3
Guinness ref1, ref2, ref3
Gunnell, Sally ref1
Hainault farm see Epping Forest farm
Hainault Forest ref1
Hamed, ‘Prince’ Naseem ref1, ref2
brother Murad ref1
Harlow hospital ref1
Hawkins, Barry ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Hearn, Barry ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14
and Ronnie ref1, ref2, ref3
Hendry, Stephen ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16, ref17, ref18
Ronnie walks out on ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
as Ronnie’s hero ref1, ref2
Hertfordshire canal ref1
Higgins, Alex ‘Hurricane’ ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Higgins, John ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13
Higginson, Andrew ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Hill, Del ref1, ref2
Hilton hotels ref1, ref2
Hirschowitz, Ivan ref1, ref2
Hirst, Damien ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14
‘Beautiful Inside My Head’ show ref1
Hoy, Sir Chris ref1, ref2
Hudson, Paul ref1
110 Sport ref1, ref2
Hurley, Liz ref1
Irish Chris (friend) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Irvine, Hazel ref1, ref2
Jagger, Mick ref1, ref2
James, Steve ref1
Jerry (marriage guidance counsellor) ref1
Jo (ex-partner) see Langley, Jo
John, Scouse (friend) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Junhui, Ding ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Kiev ref1
King, Bill ref1
King, Mark ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Lactic Rush race ref1
Langdon Hills ref1
Langley, Jo ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10
relationship with Ronnie ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14
Ronnie splits up with ref1, ref2, ref3
Lazarus, Mark and Nicky ref1
Lee (running friend) ref1
Lee, Stephen ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Les (Scouse mate) ref1, ref2
Leyton Wingate FC ref1
Little Mickey (canal friend) ref1
London
Belmarsh prison ref1
Brixton pri
son ref1
Chelsea nightclub ref1
Groucho Club ref1
Harmony sex shops ref1
Ivy restaurant ref1
Regent’s Park mosque ref1
Sotheby’s ref1
Wormwood Scrubs prison ref1
London Marathon ref1, ref2
London Olympics ref1, ref2
Long Lartin prison ref1
Lord of the Rings, The ref1
Loughton ref1
Macey’s convenience store ref1
Maguire, Stephen ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Malta ref1
Manchester United FC ref1
Manning, Eddie ref1
Martin, Eamonn ref1, ref2, ref3
Masters tournament ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Matchroom ref1
Matt (Irish running friend) ref1, ref2
Maureen (aunt) ref1
Max (rehab fella) ref1
McCarthy, Terry ref1, ref2, ref3
Meo, Tony ref1
Messi, Lionel ref1
Mickey, Little (canal friend) ref1
Mickey the Mullet (friend) ref1
Miles, Tony ref1
Mooney, Pat ref1
Morgan, Darren ref1
Muhammad Ali ref1
Murphy, Sean ref1
Murray, Andy ref1
Nadal, Rafa ref1, ref2
Narcotics Anonymous (NA) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Naseem Hamed, ‘Prince’ ref1, ref2
brother Murad ref1
News of the World ref1
Nick (Maltese gym manager) ref1
Nightnurse ref1
Olympics, London ref1, ref2
110 Sport ref1, ref2
Ongar ref1, ref2
Only Way Is Essex, The ref1
Orion running club ref1
Orpington ref1
Osho (Indian guru) ref1
O’Sullivan, Danielle (sister) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9
O’Sullivan, Maria (mother) ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13
in prison ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Chigwell house ref1, ref2, ref3
in Ronnie’s younger days ref1, ref2, ref3
businesses ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
family ref1
after husband’s release from prison ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
O’Sullivan, Ronnie