Ronnie O’Sullivan drilled in a long red and screwed the cue ball across the table, cannoning the black over the corner pocket. With the clinical precision of a surgeon, he potted the remaining reds, each one followed by a black, before nonchalantly clearing the table.

After five minutes and 20 seconds, the audience had watched the fastest maximum break of all time. This was the greatest moment witnessed on a snooker table, a brilliant player totally in control of the balls. It was magical. It was Diego Maradona dribbling from the halfway line, beating five England players before slotting the ball into the net. It was gymnast Nadia Comaneci achieving the perfect ten at the Montreal Olympics.

That was 1997. Ten years on and Ronnie is making headlines again - this time for the wrong reasons. Like many geniuses, he is a complex character and his behaviour is at times baffling. This week he crashed out of the Malta Cup in his first match. When questioned about the result afterwards three times, his only response was "no comment".

Last month, O'Sullivan was exempted from press interviews during the Masters at the Wembley Arena due to personal problems. This followed his walk-out halfway through a match with Stephen Hendry at the UK Championships. The exact reasons for this have yet to be revealed.

Sir Rodney Walker, the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) chairman, said: “Ronnie shared with me the issues which have caused his problems. Ronnie's problems have changed. The personal problems he explained to me are different to those he had before.”

Those who witnessed O'Sullivan playing at the Masters would find it impossible to believe there was anything wrong with him on or off the table. He showed a steely determination in the early rounds as he blitzed his opponents with a series of high breaks.

In the final, he showed another side to his character: playing flawless snooker, he won five frames in a row against Ding Junhui. His opponent, clearly affected by remarks from the crowd was close to tears. With the score at 9-3 he left the arena thinking the match was over. Ronnie followed him, put an arm around him and explained to him that the best-of-19 final meant he still needed to win another frame to take the title. When the players re-emerged, O'Sullivan tried to quieten the unruly crowd and at the end of the match went straight to a tearful Ding and gave him a hug. In his interview afterwards, Ronnie paid tribute to his opponent saying: "Ding doesn't need to prove anything to me. If he keeps on improving he'll be a multiple world champion.”

Following his defeat by O’Sullivan at the Masters, Ali Carter said: “The game needs Ronnie like it needed Alex Higgins and Jimmy White, and I think Ronnie knows that.” Comparing O'Sullivan to George Best, he continued: “He's so good, maybe he finds it difficult to balance his private life.”

As we know, Best had many problems off the pitch and Ronnie has had an equally troubled personal life. His father is serving a life sentence for murder. In his autobiography, Ronnie says: “'Dad and his mate were in a nightclub arguing over who should pay the bill. Then two black fellas, brothers who had been signed in that night by Charlie Kray, got the wrong end of the stick and thought Dad and his mate weren't going to pay.

''A row started. Dad said, "Let's talk about it", and walked round the bar, where one of the brothers picked up an ashtray and went to whack Dad over the head. Dad put up his hand, the ashtray smashed and two of his fingers were severed. The other fella then picked up a champagne bottle and smashed Dad over the head with it. Dad then picked up a knife that was on the side of the bar and that was it.” His mother was also sent to prison for tax evasion, leaving Ronnie, just a teenager, to look after his younger sister.

O'Sullivan won the 1998 Irish Masters but was stripped of his title when a drugs test found marijuana in his system. He was also found guilty by the WPBSA of assaulting an official at the 1996 World Championships and was handed a two-year suspended sentence, a £20,000 fine and advised to donate £10,000 to charity.

In 1996, Ronnie played left-handed against opponent Alain Robidoux. O'Sullivan eventually won 10-3, but with Robidoux clearly upset by this, there was no handshake between the two. However, since then Ronnie has played left-handed numerous times, switching hands effortlessly in mid break. He says it helps him to focus and allows him to play fewer shots with the rest.

These extravagances on and off the table are part of the mystery and joy that make O’Sullivan the best-supported player of his era. The warmth fans feel towards him can be seen every time he walks to the table. Speaking to former world champion Steve Davis, Ronnie said: “Since York, I've had fantastic support from the fans and from people in the snooker world, and I'm enjoying playing.”

Following in the footsteps of Higgins and White, Ronnie is the player the fans most identify with. His frailties are the ones that we all have; it’s just he is going through them under the glare of the sporting arena's spotlights.

O'Sullivan played the perfect frame in five minutes and 20 seconds. Whatever the future on and off the table, those who have watched him have seen a genius the likes of which may not be seen on a snooker table for a very long time.

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