RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S master cue maker has an EIGHT-YEAR waiting list.
And snooker fans often have to wait for around a year, before forking out around £3000-per-cue from the South London-based workshop.
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The world renowned craftsman, who is snooker’s answer to Harry Potter wand-maker Garrick Ollivander, is Londoner John Parris.
And O’Sullivan isn’t the only famous snooker star on Parris’ 40-year client list.
Six-time world champion Steve Davis, Alex Higgins and the legendary Jimmy White have all been visitors over the years.
But O’Sullivan was forced to put in an SOS call to Parris before the start of the 2025 World Championships last month.
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The Rocket, 49, was struggling to find a replacement after snapping his previous cue in frustration and chucking it in the bin at the Championship League in January.
And to make matters worse O’Sullivan has been complaining about his cue at the Crucible this week, labelling it as “awful”.
But master cue craftsman Parris has opened up about his relationship with O’Sullivan this week.
Parris, 73, told the BBC: “O’Sullivan is not settled. I’m not sure what cue he’s coming out with every time he comes through the curtain.
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“It could be a different one every day. He’s not happy with it but he’s managing. We’ll get there – we’ll get the perfect one in the end.”
Parris first designed a cue for O’Sullivan when the upcoming prodigy was just 11 years old.
And he and his 14 staff members are now halfway through the nine-month process of crafting what they hope will be O’Sullivan’s next long-term cue.
Parris said: “He doesn’t change cues very often but he is always saying ‘well make me another one just to see if it could be that little bit better’.
“So we normally have one or two on the go somewhere in the background. As I’m going through shafts I’ll think ‘Ronnie might like this one’ and I’ll put it to one side for him.”
World Snooker Championship 2025
WE are BACK at the Crucible for another thrilling fortnight of snooker action!
There will be a new champion this year after reigning champ Kyren Wilson crashed out in the first round after a stunning performance from Lei Peifan.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is eyeing a record EIGHTH World Snooker Championship crown, while World No 1 Judd Trump remains the tournament favourite.
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O’Sullivan pulled out of NINE tournaments in-between breaking his cue and deciding to fight for a record eighth world title in Sheffield.
He added: “It was a bit heart breaking when Ronnie broke that last one.
“It was just a tantrum, a rush of blood. It happens I guess. It takes a lot for Ronnie to do that.
“He has got a lot of pressure on him. Everybody wants a piece of him.
“Sometimes if it’s a clean break you can put it back together again.
“But this was a real job! It was never going to work. So you just have to say ‘oh well, here we go again’.”
Parris travels to timber yards across the country and searches through stockpiles of wood looking for high-quality pieces of ash and maple.
O’Sullivan faces Zhao Xintong in World Championship semi-final on Friday.
List of all-time Snooker World Champions
BELOW is a list of snooker World Champions by year.
The record is for the modern era, widely considered as dating from the 1968-69 season, when the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) took control of the sport.
The first World Championships ran from 1927 – with a break from 1941-45 because of World War II and 1958-63 because of a dispute in the sport.
Joe Davis (15), Fred Davis and John Pulman (both 8) were the most successful players during that period.
Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan share the record for the most titles in the modern era, with seven each.
- 1969 – John Spencer
- 1970 – Ray Reardon
- 1971 – John Spencer
- 1972 – Alex Higgins
- 1973 – Ray Reardon (2)
- 1974 – Ray Reardon (3)
- 1975 – Ray Reardon (4)
- 1976 – Ray Reardon (5)
- 1977 – John Spencer (2)
- 1978 – Ray Reardon (6)
- 1979 – Terry Griffiths
- 1980 – Cliff Thorburn
- 1981 – Steve Davis
- 1982 – Alex Higgins (2)
- 1983 – Steve Davis (2)
- 1984 – Steve Davis (3)
- 1985 – Dennis Taylor
- 1986 – Joe Johnson
- 1987 – Steve Davis (4)
- 1988 – Steve Davis (5)
- 1989 – Steve Davis (6)
- 1990 – Stephen Hendry
- 1991 – John Parrott
- 1992 – Stephen Hendry (2)
- 1993 – Stephen Hendry (3)
- 1994 – Stephen Hendry (4)
- 1995 – Stephen Hendry (5)
- 1996 – Stephen Hendry (6)
- 1997 – Ken Doherty
- 1998 – John Higgins
- 1999 – Stephen Hendry (7)
- 2000 – Mark Williams
- 2001 – Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 2002 – Peter Ebdon
- 2003 – Mark Williams (2)
- 2004 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (2)
- 2005 – Shaun Murphy
- 2006 – Graeme Dott
- 2007 – John Higgins (2)
- 2008 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (3)
- 2009 – John Higgins (3)
- 2010 – Neil Robertson
- 2011 – John Higgins (4)
- 2012 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (4)
- 2013 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (5)
- 2014 – Mark Selby
- 2015 – Stuart Bingham
- 2016 – Mark Selby (2)
- 2017 – Mark Selby (3)
- 2018 – Mark Williams (3)
- 2019 – Judd Trump
- 2020 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (6)
- 2021 – Mark Selby (4)
- 2022 – Ronnie O’Sullivan (7)
- 2023 – Luca Brecel
- 2024 – Kyren Wilson
Most World Titles (modern era)
- 7 – Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O’Sullivan
- 6 – Ray Reardon, Steve Davis
- 4 – John Higgins, Mark Selby
- 3 – John Spencer, Mark Williams
- 2 – Alex Higgins
World Snooker Championship 2025
WE are BACK at the Crucible for another thrilling fortnight of snooker action!
There will be a new champion this year after reigning champ Kyren Wilson crashed out in the first round after a stunning performance from Lei Peifan.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is eyeing a record EIGHTH World Snooker Championship crown, while World No 1 Judd Trump remains the tournament favourite.
Latest News
Snooker Explained