UK title sees O’Sullivan match Davis’ record of six

RONNIE O’Sullivan grabbed a share of two of snooker’s great records as he landed his sixth Betway UK Championship title in stunning fashion.

The 42-year-old crushed 2008 champion Shaun Murphy’s hopes of a second success at the tournament as he pulled away in the evening to clinch a 10-5 victory at the York Barbican.

O’Sullivan racked up breaks of 75, 104, 76, 103, 86 and 59 in a session where he produced a performance of the highest quality, swiftly tying up victory and pocketing the £170,000 top prize.

In triumphing for a sixth time, he matched Steve Davis for the most triumphs at this event. And O’Sullivan also hauled himself level with Stephen Hendry’s alltime record haul of 18 titles at the sport’s Triple Crown majors, which are made up of the UK Championship, World Championship and Masters.

There is no sign of the Rocket slowing down, unlike Hendry and Davis who by this stage in their careers had entered a decline.

And there is little doubt the man who first landed the UK title as a 17-year-old in 1993 could claim both records outright before his career ends. That is despite hinting he could sit out next year’s UK Championship in favour of a stint in the I’m A Celebrity jungle.

O’Sullivan said of his latest bigstage victory: “The records are great. To equal it... I tried my best all week and there’s nothing left.

“I’m over the moon to win any tournament, let alone the UK Championship. I just love playing and competing.”