O’Sullivan marks magnificent seven

EMOTIONAL Ronnie O’Sullivan shrugged off a stirring fightback from Judd Trump to claim a record-equalling seventh World Snooker title at the Crucible.

O’Sullivan (right) had seen a seven-frame overnight lead reduced to just three by Trump in the afternoon session before recovering when play resumed in the evening to polish off an 18-13 win.

O’Sullivan shared a lingering embrace lasting more than a minute with Trump after getting over the line with a break of 83, before also greeting his children who ran into the arena to share his moment.

With victory, the 46-yearold matched Stephen

Hendry’s modern-day record, picked up a £500,000 winner’s cheque, and surpassed Ray Reardon to become the oldest world champion in history.

Yet victory was far from a formality for O’Sullivan. Despite sailing into the final day with a 12-5 advantage, some question marks lingered after a tempestuous opening session on Sunday, in which he appeared irritated and clashed with referee Olivier Marteel.

World Snooker Tour officials have confirmed they will take no further action after Marteel issued O’Sullivan a formal warning for a lewd gesture in the eighth frame, which O’Sullivan vehemently denied, doubling down on his affront in a subsequent television interview.

Wellbank (black) beat Invergowrie AFC 3-2 in the Midlands Scotia Drainage Solutions Division One clash at Wellbank.