Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Ding Junhui to make UK Championship history
Ronnie O’Sullivan repelled the determined challenge of Ding Junhui to become the oldest winner of the UK Championship in York, 30 years after he claimed his first title at the tournament at the age of 17. O’Sullivan, 48 on Tuesday, triumphed 10-7 to seal a record-extending eighth UK crown with an exhibition-style finish of 129 amid raucous scenes at the Barbican.
But he cut a underwhelmed figure, saying the triumph lacked the “buzz” of some of his earlier successes, and said he had even found himself struggling for motivation before the opening session.
“I’m not sitting here with a massive grin and super-excited,” said O’Sullivan. “I just go through the motions a lot of the time. It’s great to win and I give my best when I’m out there and I want to win, but it’s not the same excitement as years ago when I was winning my first world and UK and Masters titles, and you’re buzzing.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a nice feeling and a job well done, but I get more of a buzz from going for a run in the morning or having breakfast with my mate. I don’t actually feel like ever playing. Once you get down there you think you’re glad you’ve done it, but even in this match today I was thinking I didn’t feel like it, I’d rather sit on my bed and watch a bit of Netflix. I feel like that a lot of the time.”
Hauled back from 4-1 and 7-5 leads by Ding, who like O’Sullivan won his first UK title as a teenager in 2005, the world No 1 dug deep when it mattered and consecutive breaks of 100 and 74 set him up for his final flourish.
It was an admirable effort from the Chinese player, who beat the defending champion, Mark Allen, on the opening
day having seriously considered withdrawing from the tournament because of illness.
But ultimately O’Sullivan, who had seldom been required to find his best form during his journey through the tournament, had just enough to leave Ding contemplating a second consecutive final defeat.
Ding said: “The first half was disappointing because I had a chance to win more frames but 4-4 wasn’t too bad because I was 4-1 down. I came back to 7-7 but he played so well. All I could do was play good safety and make breaks. He just pushed me to make mistakes and it’s all I can do – I can’t do anything else out there.”