Neal Foulds column: Ronnie O’Sullivan snooker’s dominant force again as focus turns to World Championship bid
By Neal Foulds
What Ronnie O’Sullivan is doing right now is incredible. In sporting terms, never mind snooker, we are witnessing greatness in front of our eyes and just when we think we might be at the beginning of the end, he comes again and reminds us that even now, at 48 years of age, he is still the man.
He is an amazing sportsman. The youngest and the oldest winner of the UK Championship, that record chalked up only last month, and now confirmed as the youngest and the oldest player to win the Masters only a few weeks ago. All topped off with victory at last week’s World Grand Prix. More records, more memories, more of that Ronnie magic. It’s bonkers, really, beyond belief.
Even now, he is as dominant as ever, as far ahead of his peers that I can ever remember.
He is in the realms of dominance that we haven’t seen since Stephen Hendry and Steve Davis. He’s number one in the rankings, he’s got so many points in the bank he might need to open another account soon, and he’s in the envious position of probably needing to pick and choose from here until the World Championship to ensure he isn’t overcooked by the time Sheffield comes around.
He’ll miss next week’s German Masters, which is a huge loss for the event, but perfectly understandable all the same.
Ronnie is now 15 matches unbeaten, which is staggering in itself, but when you consider that those wins span two Triple Crown tournaments, the hardest events to win, it’s clear that we are talking about complete and utter domination. And it’s not just his play on the table. He has an air of invincibility that Hendry had, that Davis had, but that I wasn’t sure a 48-year-old could have, not even Ronnie.
Is he as good as he was in 2013 when he won the World Championship after taking a year off? I’m not sure he is, but he can win in different ways now. He might not be able to produce the jaw-dropping session of snooker we saw in semi-final defeat of Ding Junhui at the World Grand Prix quite so often, but he’s prepared to roll his sleeves up nowadays and win when he’s not at his best.
He’ll grind out victories in matches he might have lost 10 years ago, and where we always used to think of him as a brilliant, almost unstoppable frontrunner, he is now so hard to shake off even if starting matches slowly and falling behind. It was that way in the Masters final against Ali Carter and again when trailing Judd Trump in the final of the World Grand Prix last week. He just wouldn’t buckle and eventually, he broke his opponents down.
Dr Stephen Peters must take plenty of credit for his input, and Ronnie says that himself. His attitude rarely lets him down nowadays, and to beat O’Sullivan you know you’re generally going to have to play somewhere close to your best. The harsh reality is that even the best players don’t seem capable of doing that right now, and I’m not sure many believe they can beat him.
And as we have always said, if O’Sullivan plays his best, he’s almost impossible to beat. His scoring is always deadly, his unrivalled positional play ensures that, but when his long game is on point like it was in Leicester, you can’t see him losing too many matches. Ronnie’s long game isn’t always as strong as it was last week, but when that facet of his game clicks, there are no chinks in his armour.
He can’t keep winning every week, of course he can’t, but right now, when he’s playing well, it’s hard to see who steps up to take him down. The tournament organisers in Germany might be disappointed he isn’t in Berlin, but the other players will be relieved.
One man who will be particularly happy to see the back of Ronnie is Ding, denied late in the UK Championship final and completely blown away in that session of their semi-final at the World Grand Prix. It was simply awesome stuff from Ronnie, and my ITV colleague Ken Doherty described it as the best session of snooker he’s ever seen.
I wouldn’t want to completely nail my colours to that mast, but most of the best sessions in the history of snooker involve Ronnie – his 6-0 drubbing of Ricky Walden at the Masters in 2014, when notching 556 points without reply, is another performance I’ll never forget.
What a player he’s been, and what a player he continues to be. A truly remarkable sportsman.
If the match with Ding was memorable for its quality, his defeat of Carter at the Masters will be remembered for different reasons. The match and whole furore around the final was unsavoury, we can’t get away from that. The two have history and it showed, but that probably inspired Ronnie. Once again, he dug deep to win a match he might’ve lost a few years ago.
Carter played really well in the afternoon session and put Ronnie under pressure, but I think that spurred Ronnie on and he got stronger and stronger as things developed. Carter wasn’t the same player as he saw his hopes of a maiden Triple Crown win slip away, but all credit to Ronnie who just wouldn’t be beaten.
Attention now turns to Berlin for a tournament that I have a lot of time for. The Tempodrom is one of the best venues I’ve been to and when it gets to finals weekend, it’s as good as anywhere in the world to watch snooker. People who say otherwise haven’t been and experienced it for themselves.
The support for snooker in Germany is fantastic and the enthusiasm for the sport helps deliver a wonderful atmosphere for the players to play in. We have a Belgian world champion now, and a German Masters extended to seven days this year, so I think we are seeing some really positive signs for snooker on the continent.
Carter will return as defending champion, and the two-time German Masters winner will no doubt fancy his chances again. He’s a tough cookie, on and off the table, and he won’t be fazed by all the noise from his latest spat with Ronnie. It might well light the fire in his belly.
He won’t be the only big name desperate to do well in Berlin, though. Carter’s results have been good all season, but for people like Mark Selby and Neil Robertson, they will be very keen for a deep run somewhere, not just for the ranking points, but to try and gain some confidence and momentum ahead of a crucial juncture in the season.
We often talk about trying to peak for the World Championship, but Robertson certainly won’t be thinking about that. He needs to find some form now, and someone like Kyren Wilson, who has a terrific record in this event, is the same.
For Ronnie, you get the sense that from here on in, it’s all about Sheffield. I hope and think we’ll see him in the big ITV events coming up, but he has said he’ll be managing his workload from now until April and you can’t really blame him. Whenever we do see him, he’ll be the man to beat, but his focus appears to have already shifted to the Crucible.
There aren’t many things that Ronnie O’Sullivan hasn’t achieved in snooker, but winning all three Triple Crown events in the same season is one of those things. How utterly ridiculous that in what should be the final act of his illustrious career, he holds all the cards, most of the trophies, and a wave of public support that will mean 8, 8, 8 is never far from the minds of snooker fans from now until the spring.
Matthew Stevens fired two centuries as he booked a place in his home tournament by beating Louis Heathcote 4-3 in the qualifying round of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Former UK and Masters champion Stevens, from Carmarthen, goes through to the final stages, to run from February 12 to 18 in Llandudno.
Heathcote started strongly with breaks of 72 and 85 to win the first two frames, then Stevens came from 60-0 down to take the third with a 71 clearance, before making 137 and 120 to go 3-2 ahead. Frame six went Heathcote’s way but Stevens got the better of the decider with a top run of 41.
Crucible semi-finalist Si Jiahui saw off six-time ranking event winner Stephen Maguire 4-1 with top breaks of 85, 71, 53 and 67. Neath’s Daniel Wells beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-2 with a top run of 66. BetVictor Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson scored a 4-1 success against Mark Davis, while Ross Muir earned a 4-2 victory over Stephen Hendry.
Graeme Dott came from 2-0 down to edge out Pang Junxu 4-3, winning a tight deciding frame by potting brown, blue and pink. Hossein Vafaei top scored with 91 in a 4-1 win over Scott Donaldson.
It was a good day for the Belgian youngsters as Julien Leclercq made a break of 74 in the deciding frame to beat Alfie Burden 4-3, while Ben Mertens top scored with 86 in a 4-0 whitewash of Hammad Miah.
Ryan Day came through a tough battle against Egypt’s Mostafa Dorgham, winning 4-3 to earn a spot in the televised phase of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Four-time ranking event winner Day might have expected an easier evening against world number 124 Dorgham, but was pushed all the way before eventually securing a place in the last 64 in Llandudno next month.
African champion Dorgham led 2-1 before Day made breaks of 58 and 64 to go 3-2 up. Dorgham won frame six on the final black for 3-3, but Day dominated the decider with a top run of 47.
Best fight-back of the day came from Jordan Brown, who won this event in 2021, as he recovered a 3-0 deficit to beat Lyu Haotian 4-3. A break of 79 helped Brown recover to 3-3, and he clinched the decider on the final black with a 34 clearance.
Stan Moody fired runs of 83 and 58 as he beat Sean O’Sullivan 4-2, while fellow tour rookie Liam Pullen eased to a 4-0 win over Rebecca Kenna. Chester’s Ricky Walden, who lives closer to Llandudno than any other pro, came from 2-1 down to beat Andy Hicks 4-2.
Marco Fu top scored with 93 as he beat Stuart Bingham 4-1, while Adam Duffy registered a surprise 4-0 win over Zhou Yuelong. Oliver Lines edged out Michael White 4-3 with a 111 in the deciding frame, while Matthew Selt won a 75-minute decider on the colours to beat Sam Craigie 4-3.
Julian Boiko completed a fine week at qualifying in Barnsley as he beat Ishpreeet Singh Chadha 4-0 to book a place in the final stages of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Earlier in the week, Ukraine’s 18-year-old Boiko saw off Baipat Siripaporn 5-1 to earn a spot in the World Open, and he can now look forward to a trip to Llandudno having whitewashed Singh Chada with top breaks of 101 and 73.
Competing as an amateur, Boiko reached the last 16 of the BetVictor Shoot Out last month and continues to build momentum as he seeks a return to the pro tour.
In a match where the two players had a combined age of 113, Dominic Dale beat Jimmy White 4-1 with a top break of 84. David Gilbert needed just 51 minutes score a 4-0 success aginst Ken Doherty with runs of 136, 62, 66 and 68.
Llanelli’s Jamie Clarke came from 2-0 down to edge out James Cahill 4-3, while Tom Ford made a 93 in the decider to win a Leicester derby against Ben Woollaston 4-3.
Crucible quarter-finalist Jak Jones won the deciding frame on the final pink to beat Liu Hongyu 4-3, while Joe Perry, who won this event in 2022, lost 4-2 to Fan Zhengyi. Caerphilly’s Dylan Emery made breaks of 103, 92 and 123 in a fine 4-1 victory over Fergal O’Brien.
One of the reasons I insist that there should be no qualifiers in any flat draw events, unless they are played at or near the main event venue, is that, only too often, the “local” players fail to qualify and the local fans don’t get the opportunity to cheer on their “own” players. This has been often the case for the Welsh players in the past. Fortunately this time all the Welsh players did well and Matthew Stevens, Ryan Day, Daniel Wells, Dominic Dale, Andrew Pagett, Jamie Clarke and Dylan Emery all qualified. Willo of course has his opening match held over to the venue.
On the first day, I mainly focused on the Belgian lads, Ben and Julien. Both managed a much needed win. Julien faced a tough challenge in Alfie Burden. Their match was a close high scoring affair: they had six breaks over 60 in seven frames, including a 61 by Alfie in frame 2, a frame he lost.
Day 2 produced some extraordinary “features”.
It was frustration day: Zhou Yuelong, whose current lack of form is worrying, conceded frame 2 at 13-46 with five reds left, Stuart Bingham, who struggles with his eyesight, conceded frame 5 on 0-59 with 6 reds left and Himanshu Jain missed the 11th black in a maximum attempt in frame 4, the only frame he won, in his match against Noppon Saengkham.
Matthew Selt and Sam Craigie had an incredible battle. The whole match lasted over 4 1/2 hours, the deciding frame alone lasted over 1h20′. There was just one break over 50 all match. In four frames the winner finished with a total under 70 points, and that without any early concession. It was hard match snooker at its hardest. It was fascinating but hardly the type of match that will attract young poeple or new fans to the sport. Because of it, the evening match between Day and Dorgham was played on an outside table so that the players weren’t made to wait, and despite going to a deciding frame, their match finished less than half an hour after the Selt v Craigie one.
Comparatively, Day 3 was rather uneventful despite delivering some close battles.
Ronnie has said that he will not play in the Welsh Open this season but, as far as we know, he hasn’t withdrawn yet. We shall see. The reason I say that is because he loves Llandudno, he loves the place, he loves the arena and he has running mates there.
Martin Gould has pulled out of the BetVictor German Masters and BetVictor Welsh Open for medical reasons.
Gould was due to face John Higgins in the second round in Berlin on Tuesday evening, instead Higgins will receive a bye to the last 32.
Sydney Wilson has replaced Gould in the BetVictor Welsh Open qualifying round and will face Wu Yize on Saturday.
Hossein Vafaei has withdrawn from the BetVictor German Masters dues to visa issues. He was due to face Elliot Slessor in the second round on Monday, instead Slessor will receive a bye to the last 32.
First of all, I’m wishing Martin Gould a speedy and complete recovery.
Next… no Ronnie withdrawal announced yet but it’s clear that whatever happens there will be no replacements at the German Masters no matter when players pull out from here on.
Ronnie O’Sullivan has withdrawn from next week’s BetVictor German Masters for medical reasons.
O’Sullivan has been replaced in the draw by Barry Pinches, who will play Julien Leclercq in a first round match on Monday afternoon (January 29th).
Hossein Vafaei has pulled out due to visa issues. He was due to face Elliot Slessor in the second round on Monday, instead Slessor will receive a bye to the last 32.
Martin Gould has withdrawn for medical reasons. Gould was due to face John Higgins in the second round in Berlin on Tuesday evening, instead Higgins will receive a bye to the last 32.
Gould has also pulled out of the BetVictor Welsh Open qualifying round and been replaced by Sydney Wilson, who will face Wu Yize on Saturday.
The fact that Ronnie IS replaced when Gould and Vafaei are not tells only one story – to me at least – and it’s that Ronnie had withdrawn earlier but they were keeping in quiet.
Forget that! Of course as Mr Rerack exlpains in the comment section the ones who already won a match can’t be replaced. Silly mistake from me. Sorry for that.
There weren’t that many surprises – outcome or scores – but there were some big ones:
Liu Hongyu beat Jamie Clarke by 5-1. We know by now that Liu is very good, but the score is still surprising. Liu needed several snookers in the sixth frame, including at least one on the pink.
Ryan Day beat Andrew Higginson by 5-4 from 4-1 down.
Mark Selby was seriously pushed by the 19 years old rookie Xing Zihao. Mark won by 5-3, making two centuries, including a 130 in frame 5 … the 800th century of his career.
Jenson Kendrick beat Anthony Hamilton by 5-3 in a match that featured a break over 50 in every frame bar the first. Ants is never easy to beat and I’m glad that Jenson gets something out of his professional experience this season. His first year was terrible and it must have been hard to take, especially as he became a father for the first time. After his win this week he came on social media with a picture of himself and his baby…
Sean O’Sullivan beat Xiao Guodong by 5-1. I didn’t see the match but … Xiao made the only century of the match in frame 1, then lost all the close next five.
Ishpreet Singh Chadha beat Stuart Bingham by 5-3. A very good result for the Indian player.
Lukas Kleckers beat Jack Lisowski by 5-2. I’m very happy for Lukas and for the German fans who will have the opportunity to watch him play. The less I say about Jack the better.
Ashley Hugill beat Anthony McGill by 5-1. Ashley is a very solid all-rounder but I can’t help wondering about Anthony’s motivation in qualifiers.
There were also some very close battles
Aaron Hill beat Joe O’Connor by 5-4
Joe Perry beat Martin O’Donnell by 5-4
Noppon Saengkham beat Himanshu Jain by 5-4
Ben Woollaston beat Ben Mertens by 5-4. That was hard fought. I like them both and I went through mixed feelings throughout that match!
Adam Duffy beat Mark Davis by 5-4 … and I’m truly sorry for Mark’s biggest fan who is German 😢
Also …
David Lilley beat Scott Donaldson by 5-3 in the last match of the day. A match that finished one hour and 15 minutes after all the other ones. Both players have an AST over 30 seconds, but their shot time, towards the end, was more often than not over 45 seconds. Sorry but that’s preposterous. I know it’s important to them, I know they are under pressure but I’m also convinced that starting to ponder every shot for too long isn’t helpful. It’s mentally exhausting and rarely leads to the best decision.
And finally …
Mark Williams withdrew from the event to play exhibitions in Finland in front of big enthusiast crowds. Good on him. It was kept very quiet by WST though. No fuss at all, no big words, no threats to be thrown out of the game … I found out because only when Iulian Boiko replaced him and because there were pictures on social media. Yet these exhibitions were conflicting with one of WST events, didn’t they? No consistency here from the governing body and you have to wonder why. I don’t want to bring Willo any problems – maybe he asked permission and got it, maybe the fact that Robin Hull was involved in the organisation helped – and you know my stance: players being self-employed should be free to take the best offers, it’s for WST to come up with them if they want the best players in their events. It’s that simple. The hard capitalist that is Barry Hearn should know that better than anyone. But still … it only makes me wonder even more about the real reasons why WST got so worked up about the Macau one …
Ronnie O’Sullivan extended his winning streak to 15 matches, with a narrow 5-3 defeat of Alfie Burden to earn his place in the final stages of the World Open.
The Rocket has been in imperious form of late, winning three consecutive titles at the UK Championship, Masters and the World Grand Prix. However, world number 98 Burden provided a stern test this evening.
With O’Sullivan leading 3-2, it was Burden who fired in a superb century run of 104 to restore parity at 3-3. However, the seven-time World Champion stepped up when he needed it and made breaks of 83 and 58 to take the next two and get himself through.
And the scores …
It wasn’t a great match by any means. Alfie is a very capable player – I wonder why he hasn’t done better each time I watch him play – and Ronnie, who was clearly in pain (foot injury), looked tired and uninspired. That was to be expected… qualifiers in Barnsley after winning three major titles, that’s not very enthralling to say the least. But he did enough and it’s all that matters.
Here is the last frame, shared by Eurosport on their YouTube channel
I will look at the results of those qualifiers tomorrow when all matches are done.
Anyway … Ronnie and Alfie go a lomg way and off the table they always had a good relationship. Alfie posted this on Twitter (yes X, I know) …
Ronnie beat Judd Trump by 10-7 yesterday evening to become the 2024 World Grand Prix Champion. Ronnie came back from 0-4 and 3-6 behind! This is Ronnie’s 41st ranking title, his fourth professional title this season and his third World Grand Prix crown.
Frame one We’re all expecting a blockbuster final today, and what a start! Trump knocks in a long red and goes on to make 74 before missing a tricky red with the rest. There’s still 67 on the table, but O’Sullivan elects to stay in his chair. O’Sullivan 0-1 Trump
Frame two Worrying early signs for O’Sullivan? Trump leads 62-0 when he misses the frame-ball black to a top corner, then O’Sullivan has a chance to clear but pots just one red before a routine black to middle hits the far jaw. Trump adds 40 and he’s two frames up. O’Sullivan 0-2 Trump
Frame three Trump has two scoring chances and can only amass 40 points, then O’Sullivan counters before running out of position on the penultimate red, leading 52-40. A safety error from O’Sullivan sends the cue ball in-off, and Trump mops up to extend his advantage. A long way to go, but O’Sullivan needs a foothold soon. O’Sullivan 0-3 Trump
Frame four Last night, ITV commentator Phil Yates described O’Sullivan’s performance as the best in a single session he had ever seen, after the Rocket crushed Ding Junhui 6-1. That’s high praise from Yates, who has followed O’Sullivan’s career for over 30 years. But so far today, O’Sullivan’s touch has deserted him. Early in frame four he fails to escape from a snooker four times, eventually leaving a free ball, and Trump makes 69 to complete a clean sweep in the first mini session. O’Sullivan 0-4 Trump
Frame five O’Sullivan has first chance and makes 34 before an unwanted flick off a red sends the cue ball in-off. Trump’s opportunity to respond ends when he misses a difficult thin cut on a red to corner, and O’Sullivan adds 27 which proves enough to get him on the scoreboard. O’Sullivan 1-4 Trump
Frame six More like it from O’Sullivan – at least in terms of the scoreline. He makes 54 before missing a red to a top corner, and Trump has two chances to punish him, but misses a red then a pink. O’Sullivan adds 60 to close to within two frames. Two more to go in this session. O’Sullivan 2-4 Trump
Frame seven Given how good these two have been this season, this final is yet to catch fire in terms of the standard. O’Sullivan again misses red to corner on 28, then Trump’s reply of 40 ends when he loses position. Trump is handed another chance by a weak safety from his opponent, and this time he capitalises with 61 to guarantee a lead going into tonight’s conclusion. The last frame of the session is massive… O’Sullivan 2-5 Trump
Frame eight …and O’Sullivan takes it with a brilliant steal! Again he lets slip an early chance, under-cutting a black on 33, before Trump runs out of position on the same score. A clever doubled red gets O’Sullivan back in, followed by a superb slow-rolled black to keep position. He clears with 63, his highest break of the match so far, and that might be the spark he needs. Trump is still ahead but may feel he should have a bigger cushion. They return at 7pm for the conclusion. O’Sullivan 3-5 Trump
EVENING FRAMES
Frame nine Big moments at the start of the concluding session. O’Sullivan misses a red to corner leading 19-0 and Trump responds with 66 before losing position with three reds left and missing a tough long pot to a baulk corner. A long red sets up a chance to clear for O’Sullivan, but he can’t get on the awkward green. After a safety battle, O’Sullivan pots the green but then a difficult brown to centre hits the far jaw, and his opponent takes advantage to extend his lead. O’Sullivan 3-6 Trump
Frame ten We’re so used to seeing O’Sullivan reel off frames in a single visit, but so far today he has not been as clinical. He makes 58 before failing to pot a red to a centre pocket. This time he is not punished as Trump’s chance to clear ends prematurely with a missed red to a top corner on 12. O’Sullivan adds 56 to close the gap to two again. After ten frames, the highest break is just 74 – no one would have predicted that this morning. O’Sullivan 4-6 Trump
Frame 11 The highest break is still 74, but this time O’Sullivan does clinch the frame in a single visit. Trump’s attempted long red is well off target, and the red comes back up to baulk, gifting O’Sullivan an opening. He makes 74 and he has now won five of the last seven frames. Is this the change of gear that his fans have been hoping to see? O’Sullivan 5-6 Trump Frame 12 O’Sullivan leads 30-0 when he splits the pack off the black but a red drops in. Trump builds a 57-30 lead then plays safe on the last red, but it’s a loose one and he leaves his opponent the chance of a mid-range pot. O’Sullivan slots in the red and clears the table to square the match. Big momentum shift in the last 45 minutes and O’Sullivan has a spring in his step as he walks out of the arena for the interval. O’Sullivan 6-6 Trump
Frame 13 Just as he did in the Masters final against Ali Carter a week ago, O’Sullivan has grown into the contest after a slow start, and now leads for the first time. He runs out of position on 52, but gets back in with a delightful long red and adds 35. That’s four in a row for the veteran. O’Sullivan 7-6 Trump
Frame 14 Drama! O’Sullivan leads 51-0 when he misses a red to corner, and Trump is on the verge of an excellent clearance when he misses the final black. It was tricky as the black was on the top cushion and he was unlucky to finish nearly straight on the pink, before forcing it in to get close to the black. But he under-cut the pot and left it hanging over the corner for O’Sullivan to double his lead. Can Trump recover from that set-back? O’Sullivan 8-6 Trump
Frame 15 Snooker can be cruel sometimes, Trump must now be feeling. He misses pink to centre on 43, and the frame eventually comes down to the last red. O’Sullivan plays a good safety but Trump pulls off a tremendous pot on the red and looks set to clear, but a cut-back brown to a baulk corner rattles in the pocket and stays on the baize. O’Sullivan dishes up and he’s three ahead with four to play. O’Sullivan 9-6 Trump
Frame 16 Having lost six frames in a row, Trump pulls one back with a break of 73. He’s not done yet… O’Sullivan 9-7 Trump
Frame 17 A huge fluke on a red sets up O’Sullivan for a break of 52, though he misses a red to corner just a few pots from the winning line. Trump responds with 40 but runs out of position on the yellow and leaves it over a baulk corner. O’Sullivan wraps up and he is the 2024 Spreadex World Grand Prix champion! O’Sullivan 10-7 Trump
They also published more analytical accounts of the sessions
udd Trump, aiming to win his fourth ranking title this season, goes into the concluding session of the Spreadex World Grand Prix final with a 5-3 lead over Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Trump led 4-0 in the early stages and may feel he should have finished the session with a greater advantage, as so far O’Sullivan has made numerous errors and shown only glimpses of the form which gave him a 6-1 victory over Ding Junhui on Saturday night. The final resumes at 7pm on Sunday evening, and first to ten frames will take the trophy and £100,000 top prize.
A break of 74 gave Trump the opening frame, then he added the second in three scoring visits. In the third, O’Sullivan led 52-40 when he ran out of position on the penultimate red, then his attempted safety went in-off and Trump punished him for 3-0. A run of 69 saw 34-year-old Trump complete a clean sweep in the first mini session.
After the interval, O’Sullivan got the better of a scrappy fifth frame, then compiled breaks of 54 and 60 to close to 4-2. In the seventh he missed a routine red on 28, and Trump’s runs of 40 and 61 gave him a three-frame cushion. The scores were tied at 33-33 in the last of the session when O’Sullivan played a clever double on a red to a centre pocket, then converted a superb pot on the black, setting up a 63 clearance to leave the contest well poised.
These two kings of the baize have previously met 27 times, 48-year-old O’Sullivan holding a slender 14-13 lead in the head-to-head. This is their 13th final and the younger man has come up Trumps in seven of the previous 12, although O’Sullivan has won their last two finals – at the World Championship and Champion of Champions in 2022.
O’Sullivan is aiming to win this title for the third time having lifted the trophy in 2018 and 2021. He is playing in his 63rd ranking final and aiming for his 41st title, which would stretch his record to five ahead of Stephen Hendry’s tally of 36. The Rocket has already lifted the trophy this season at the Shanghai Masters, UK Championship and the Masters, and victory today would bring his streak of consecutive match wins to 14.
Already well clear at the top of the official world rankings, having held the number one status since April 2022, O’Sullivan could extend his lead over Trump tonight if he takes the first prize. On the one-year list, Trump is sure to stay on top, with O’Sullivan second, whatever the result today.
Bristol’s Trump is also aiming for his fourth trophy of the season, and he has appeared in the final of six of the 13 tournaments he has contested so far in 2023/24. The Ace in the Pack is playing in his 42nd ranking final and looking for his 27th title, which would leave him just one behind Steve Davis in fifth position on the all-time list. He is already the only player to have won the World Grand Prix three times, having lifted the trophy in 2015, 2019 and 2020.
O’SULLIVAN OVERTURNS TRUMP TO EXTEND TROPHY SEQUENCE
Ronnie O’Sullivan came from 4-0 down to beat Judd Trump 10-7 in the final of the Spreadex World Grand Prix, extending his marvellous run to 14 consecutive match wins and three straight titles.In a golden spell dating back to November, O’Sullivan has landed trophies at the UK Championship, the Masters and now this week’s event in Leicester.
He also captured the Shanghai Masters title in September, and remarkably at the age of 48 he could be closing in on the best season of his career. He brings his tally of ranking titles to 41 – well clear of Stephen Hendry’s 36 in the all-time list – and his prize money for the season close to £900,000.
In terms of standard, this was not a match that lived up to its billing, as the best two players of the season so far went head to head. The highest break was just 74, while O’Sullivan won only one frame in a single visit – in contrast to his imperious display in a 6-1 defeat of Ding Junhui in Saturday’s semi-finals.
After a strong start, Trump failed to capitalise on his early advantage, making errors at key moments as he let slip a 6-3 lead, losing seven of the last eight frames. In an earlier stage of his career, O’Sullivan might have lacked the resilience to battle back without his A game, but these days his mental toughness is a huge asset, and just as he did against Ali Carter in the Masters final a week ago, he grew stronger as the night progressed.
The Rocket takes the World Grand Prix title for the third time, having won it in 2018 and 2021. He extends his lead at the top of the world rankings, and has now won his last three finals against Trump, having lost seven of their first ten.
Bristol’s 34-year-old Trump banks £40,00 as runner-up but missed out on a 27th career ranking title and fourth of the season having won three in a row in October during his own purple patch, which covered 22 consecutive match wins
Trump led 5-3 after the first session and extended his advantage in the first frame tonight, making a break of 66 then wrapping it up after O’Sullivan missed a tough pot on the final brown. Breaks of 58, 56 and 75 saw O’Sullivan start his comeback as he closed to 6-5. In frame 12, Trump led 57-30 when he played a weak safety on the last red, handing his opponent the chance to slot in a mid-range pot and clear to square the match.
After the interval, O’Sullivan’s run of 52 helped him take the lead for the first time. He led 51-0 in frame 14 when he missed a red to a top corner, and Trump was on the verge of an excellent clearance until he left a tricky pot on the final black in the jaws, allowing O’Sullivan to go 8-6 up. Again in the 15th Trump had a chance to clear, after an excellent pot on the last red, but a difficult cut on the brown rattled in a baulk corner pocket and stayed above the baize, and he was soon three down with four to play.
Having lost six frames in a row, Trump pulled one back with a 73 for 9-7. In frame 17, O’Sullivan made 52 before missing a red to corner with the winning line just a few pots away. Trump might have cleared but lost position on the yellow, then misjudged a safety and left it close to a baulk pocket. A full house at the Morningside Arena rose to applaud O’Sullivan as he potted the colours to secure the title.
“Judd started well, then I got back into it at 5-3 which gave me a bit of optimism. In the evening I tried to be strong mentally and kept my composure,” said O’Sullivan. “I enjoyed the battle. I have got a lot of experience having learned a lot about the game and I’m probably a better all round player than I have ever been. Judd is a warrior and for me he is favourite for Sheffield but I have three months to try to get some consistency in my game. It will be nice to go there and enjoy it.
“Last night against Ding was a one-off, I won’t get excited about one performance, I sometimes wonder why I don’t do that more often but it’s nice to know it’s still in there. There is a sense of achievement in winning, even though I didn’t flow like I know I can today.“
Trump added: “The standard wasn’t good, but Ronnie cleared up when he needed to and won the important frames. His safety was better than mine tonight and overall he deserved to win. I had a kick on the black to go 7-7, then missed the brown in the next frame. I always enjoy playing Ronnie and I hope we play in a lot more finals.“
ROCKET REACTS TO VICTORY
And these are the pictures they shared in the above articles1:
In the original articles they are presented as a slideshow, but I feel that the gallery is more adequate as all pictures are immediately visible. ↩︎
Ronnie beat Ding Junhui by 6-1 in the semi-finals of the 2024 World Grand Prix. It was snooker from the Gods. It was sport elevated to an Art form. It was simply marvellous.
Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted that his performance was “up there” with the best of his career as he made four centuries and two more breaks over 70 in a scintillating 6-1 win over Ding Junhui in the semi-finals of the Spreadex World Grand Prix.
Even by his own incredibly high standard, O’Sullivan was magnificent as he blew away an opponent who made no more than a handful of mistakes. World number one O’Sullivan has now won 13 consecutive matches, picking up titles at the UK Championship and the Masters, but without doubt this was his best display of the season so far.
And it sets up a fabulous final on Sunday in Leicester as he’ll face Judd Trump over 19 frames for the trophy and £100,000 top prize. Clearly the best two players of 2023/24 so far, they will both be aiming for a fourth title of the season. It will be their first meeting since 2022, when they clashed in the final of both the World Championship and Champion of Champions.
O’Sullivan will be playing in his 63rd ranking final, having won 40 of the previous 62. Victory would bring his prize money for the season close to £900,000, on target to beat Trump’s record of £1,094,000 set in 2019/20.
With legendary jockey AP McCoy among the packed crowd, O’Sullivan raced ahead with a 135 total clearance in the opening frame. Ding, who lost to O’Sullivan in the UK Championship final and first round of the Masters, responded with an 85, but the Chinese ace could not contain an opponent at the peak of his powers. Breaks of 128 and 79 put seven-time Crucible king O’Sullivan 3-1 up at the interval.
Ding had first chance in frame five but missed the pink to a baulk corner on 28 and his opponent punished him with 90. Back to back centuries, 128 and 124, saw O’Sullivan finish with a flourish in a contest that lasted just 72 minutes.
“I felt good tonight, I was comfortable,” O’Sullivan told ITV. “I wasn’t bothered about big breaks but I felt as if I could get the ball where I wanted it to go. I take satisfaction from feeling good over the shot. I was relaxed and confident because I felt that if I got chances I would do something, which hasn’t been the case in the last two years.”
Asked if this was among his best performances, O’Sullivan replied: “I have had other sessions where I have played good stuff, scored well and played good safety. But it’s up there.
“I know earlier this week I said I’m not bothered if I win or lose, but I just meant that sometimes I find it hard to keep the focus and the will to win, because I get so frustrated it gets tiring. But I know people pay good money to come and watch so I always try to put in a professional display, mentally. Whether I play well or not is out of my control. I don’t want people to think I’m not trying, because I am trying my hardest. Tonight I enjoyed it and the crowd enjoyed it, and that’s what keeps me coming back.”
As for the final, he added: “I am looking forward to it, best of 19 against Judd who is playing fantastically well. I will need to play like that to have a chance. If I can feel comfortable over the shot then I’ll enjoy it.”
It’s been a long time since Ronnie looked happy around the table and after a match and that was for me the best bit about yesterday evening. I hope it lasts.
Ronnie O'Sullivan 