Ronnie matches great Brits
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN claimed a historic double with a sixth UK Championship title last night.
The Rocket raced to a 10-5 win over fierce rival Shaun Murphy at York’s Barbican Centre yesterday – pocketing the £170,000 first prize.
And that meant O’Sullivan equalled the long-standing record of UK titles set by boyhood idol Steve Davis 30 years ago.
But for good measure he drew level with Scot Stephen Hendry on 18 major titles – including the UK, Masters and World Championship tournaments. O’Sullivan now trails another Hendry record of 36 ranking titles won by just five, having had a hat-trick of successes in just the past two months.
And he will get a chance to extend his own record of seven Masters wins at Alexandra Palace next month.
Last night also served as revenge for a Champion of Champions final defeat inflicted last month by Murphy at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena. Murphy was also a former UK winner in 2008. Now-retired seven-time world champion Hendry, 48, said: “Ronnie goes on sometimes about how he doesn’t really care about titles and records.
“But when he’s at the table, he looks like he cares. He looks like he’s there to win.”
Davis said: “If you’re that good, you can withstand the next generations coming through. He is lasting longer because he is a genius.”
O’Sullivan, 42, was playing in a fifth final of the season, having already won the English Open and Shanghai Masters.