Ronnie O'Sullivan is to modern-day snooker what Alex Higgins and Steve Davis were to the game in the 1980s. The man nicknamed The Rocket is as charismatic as he is talented and the saying 'the great talents live on the edge', could have been coined for O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan has won four world titles, is second behind Stephen Hendry in career earnings and is considered by many commentators, fans and, most importantly, his fellow pros as the most naturally-gifted player to grace the game of snooker.

Born in the West Midlands but raised in Essex, O'Sullivan turned professional in 1992 and won his first 38 games - a record that still stands. He is the youngest player to win a ranking tournament, the 1997 UK Championship, at the age of 17. But controversy has never been far from O'Sullivan. 1n 1996, he was found guilty of assaulting then media official and now tournament director Mike Ganley at the World Championship and fined £20,000. The following year's World Championship saw O'Sullivan live up to his nickname by recording the fastest maximum break at 5 minutes, 20 seconds.

O'Sullivan claimed the first of his three world crowns in 2001, followed by wins in 2004 and 2008. His form dipped in 2003, but he worked with Ray Reardon in 2004 and duly sauntered to his second world title. The demons resurfaced and in 2006 he caused a major stir when conceding a 17-frame game with Stephen Hendry at the UK Championship in the sixth frame. He was fined and heavily sanctioned for his actions. His form was mixed through 2007, but he bounced back to claim a third world crown in 2008 - en-route he racked up a record ninth maximum 147 break.

After a period in the wilderness, where he came close to dropping out of the world's top 16 and the automatic entry into tournaments that brings with it, O'Sullivan began working with sports psychologist Dr Steve Peters and it heralded a turnaround in his fortunes. This was reinforced at the Crucible in May 2012, as he claimed his fourth World Championship with an 18-11 win over Ali Carter in the final.

Career high: Winning his first world title in 2001 was a special moment for O'Sullivan.

Career low: A rollercoaster career for O'Sullivan hit a low in 2006 when he conceded a game at its early stages, bringing snooker into disrepute.

Quote: Commenting on Barry Hearn's appointment at the WPBSA, O'Sullivan said: "He's the Ronaldinho of promoting. We've had the amateurs and finally common sense has prevailed. "Finally there's someone in charge of the game who delivers. He has charisma, he's a winner. He's got everything you need. Snooker's lucky. I don't think some of the players deserve it. If Barry's involved in the game, I definitely want to play on longer."

Trivia: Plays right handed but is hugely talented with his left hand. Alain Robidoux accused O'Sullivan of showing a lack of respect by playing left handed against him in the 1996 World Championship. O'Sullivan hit back by claiming he was a better player left handed than Robidoux was with his right. O'Sullivan was charged with bringing the game into disrepute, but at his disciplinary hearing he played three frames left handed against former world champion Rex Williams, winning all three. The disrepute charge was dropped.