‘Grand Old Duke of York’ Ronnie O'Sullivan can stay on top of the hill - Chris Waters

To judge by his performance at the York Barbican last week, there are plenty more miles in the Rolls Royce yet.

O’Sullivan’s latest success – secured on Sunday two days short of his 48th birthday – conferred on him the only suitable sobriquet under the circumstances: ‘Grand Old Duke of York’.

There have been various claimants to that distinguished title, from Richard Plantagenet in the 15th century to Prince Frederick, son of King George III, born in 1763, but none more deserving than the man more commonly known as the ‘Rocket’, who won his first UK title back in 1993.

There are times when it is easy to dismiss snooker’s ‘Grand Old Duke of York’ as a moody, temperamental character prone to sporadic bouts of self-pity somewhat at variance with career earnings that stretch into eight figures (you do the math...).

That’s an awful lot of brass for, admittedly, an awful lot of balls potted, and one doubts that O’Sullivan will be found rushing to consult his bank account to make sure that his latest pay cheque (£250,000) has dropped safely.

There have been tantrums and walkouts, bust-ups and controversies, during a career of astonishing success and longevity too.

If genius is flawed, O’Sullivan is proof of it; like many artists, he has a love-hate relationship with the very thing at which he excels.

As his 10-7 victory over Sheffield-based rival Ding Junhui highlighted, however, sealed with a sublime century break, O’Sullivan is perhaps the greatest sportsman this country has produced.

Cross-sport comparisons are always futile – even more so cross-era ones – but it is difficult to think of anyone quite so talented who has been quite so successful for quite so long, testament to his determination when everything is as it should be, his fitness and that skill.

When O’Sullivan walks to the table and settles down over the cue ball, it is like watching Messi embarking on a dribble or Woods about the fairway.

Were snooker not still slightly looked down on compared to the likes of football and golf, say, or at least not regarded with quite the same reverence, O’Sullivan would surely be spoken of more often in such company; as it is, he has not had – and perhaps never will – the recognition he deserves beyond his own discipline.

What we love about O’Sullivan is his style and his flair; he plays sport as it should be played – as an entertainment.

If other players had the audacity to suddenly switch to playing left-handed, seemingly on a whim, as O’Sullivan does, one might presume them arrogant and/or disrespectful.

When he does it, though, reverting from his usual right-hand style, one cannot help but chuckle and marvel at the outcome, normally a potted ball or a great safety shot.

Could Woods win a major playing left-handed, say, or Djokovic a tennis tournament with his wrong hand?

O’Sullivan could perhaps play an entire competition left-handed and win it too.

Even in the realms of the remarkable, this is no ordinary genius.

So, for how long can O’Sullivan grace the green baize?

Prior to his latest success, he opined that he could continue for another 10 years, with nights like Sunday unlikely to dissuade him, or anyone, of his capacity to do so.

“If you had told me 30 years ago I’d still be playing,” he remarked, reflecting on that first UK triumph after bagging No 8, “I’d have said you were off your nut.

“But I feel like I have got better.

"I feel like I am more of a complete player than I have ever been.

“I always keep beating myself up with the age thing and think at some point it has got to stop.

"But I keep going all right, so I’ll keep going until the wheels fall off.”

Steve Davis, who knows a thing or two about longevity himself, has urged O’Sullivan to do just that.

Sportspeople, goes the old cliche, are a long time retired, and Davis sees no reason why a man he describes as “by far the most talented genius we’ve had in the game” cannot keep snooker’s Grim Reaper at bay.

“What a career he has had, and it will be good for him to try as hard as possible to stay at the top for as long as possible,” said Davis.

“The adrenalin and buzz you get from walking out there will be impossible to replicate.”

Not yet is O’Sullivan, it appears, ready to join Davis alongside John Parrot and Hazel Irvine in the television studio.

For having marched his way up to the top of the hill, snooker’s ‘Grand Old Duke of York’ looks set to stay there for some time to come – at least for as long as the motivation remains.