Ronnie O'Sullivan is a seven-time world champion after beating Judd Trump in an absorbing final at The Crucible.
The iconic entertainer further cemented his status as one of the greats of the game, holding off a spirited fightback from Trump to eventually prevail 18-13. He finished the contest in style, executing a break of 85 to rapturous applause from the sell-out crowd.
After dominating the first two sessions on Sunday, the outcome looked inevitable as 'The Rocket' began the day with a commanding 12-5 lead. Indeed, many were speculating if Trump would even be able to force a final session, needing a minimum of three of the opening eight frames to avoid a harrowing early defeat.
However, any thoughts of a procession were dispelled the 2019 champion then mounted a brave fightback, taking the opening session 6-2 to leave things standing at 14-11. Suddenly, not only was the contest in the balance, but also O'Sullivan's hopes of equalling Stephen Hendry's record of seven world titles.
But having looked unusually tense in the afternoon, O'Sullivan settled nerves with a break of 82 in the opening frame of the night. After Trump then missed a crucial black, the Wordsley star capitalised again with a clearance of 88 to make it 16-11.
That left him just two frames from glory, and he threatened to break free again with a break of 27 only for a rare miscalculation to halt the break. Both players then missed a series of chances in a tense period of play, before Trump sank a long red before negotiating some tricky positional play with a break of 64 to stem the tide.
Not for long though, with O'Sullivan handed another chance to get amongst the balls in the next frame, and he racked up a break of 75 to leave himself on the brink. And when the players re-emerged after the mid-session interval, there was a sense of inevitably amid the crowd cheers.
With little to lose, Trump sank a long red to get off the mark and then proceeded to attack, with a dynamic break of 109 delaying his opponent's slice of history. Incidentally, Trump's effort was the 109th century break of the Championship, exceeding the previous record set in 2021.
But in the next frame, O'Sullivan ended a tense opening by delicately cutting a red into the pocket, and with the balls already spread, he was at his clinical best to finish matters. After making 85, he embraced his rival, and the pair appeared to share some poignant words before the tearful champion celebrated with his family.
Speaking afterwards, O'Sullivan told the BBC's Hazel Irvine it was "the greatest win I've ever had," and was also full of praise for Trump. He also denied that the prospect of matching Hendry's record weighed heavily on him.
"It never has and I've never bothered about records," he said. "Don't get me wrong when you get them you look and go 'oh that's nice' but I've never performed well if I'm going for stuff like that, I just try to enjoy the game, compete, and enjoy being on the circuit.
"I work hard at my game and when you do that you just let the snooker gods decide to do what they're gonna do. And these 17 days they were on my side. We all knew Judd wasn't playing his best, but that's what a champion does, they get to the final and still nearly win it and he'll be winning this title a few more times."
