| Venue: Barbican Centre, York Dates: Saturday, 25 November – Sunday, 3 December |
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Ronnie O’Sullivan grew to become the oldest-ever UK champion with a 10-7 victory over Ding Junhui as he claimed a record-extending eighth title in York.
O’Sullivan’s triumph has come two days earlier than he turns 48 and three many years on from being the youngest participant to win the UK Championship, aged 17.
The match was delicately poised at 4-4 heading into Sunday’s remaining session.
But O’Sullivan pulled clear with 4 half-centuries and two centuries to safe the £250,000 high prize.
O’Sullivan’s exceptional longevity on the high of the sport means he eclipses Doug Mountjoy’s long-standing mark from 1988, when he received his second UK title, aged 46, towards Stephen Hendry.
“Each match I win and play in, I take nice pleasure from,” O’Sullivan advised BBC Sport.
“I needed to come out and have a great head. There was a giant crowd and I needed to go away blood, sweat and tears on the desk. I got here out and gave it my all and I like competing.
“I at all times maintain beating myself up due to the age factor. I maintain pondering sooner or later you must cease successful however I’m doing all proper and I’ll carry on going till the wheels fall off.”
O’Sullivan’s newest landmark second continues his exceptional success in snooker’s prestigious Triple Crown occasions, along with his tally of trophies throughout the Masters, UK and World Championship’s now at 22, 4 away from Scotland’s Hendry.
The seven-time world champion, who holds nearly each different main report within the sport, has been selective about his appearances on the world tour this time period, having received the non-ranking Shanghai Masters occasion in September.
However, his performances towards Hossein Vafaei, Zhou Yuelong, Robert Milkins and Anthony McGill earlier within the match underlined his capability to ship on the large event.
In Sunday’s finale towards Ding, he went from energy to energy so as to add a fortieth rating title to his assortment, sealing the end result with a elegant break of 129.
Ding shows preventing spirit
It is the second successive yr that China’s Ding has misplaced within the remaining by a three-frame margin, albeit this contest was markedly totally different to his painful defeat by Mark Allen 12 months in the past, when he let a 6-1 lead slip.
The three-time winner, who says he loves taking part in on the Yorkshire venue, delivered an outstanding response to falling 3-0 down on Sunday afternoon with breaks of 89, a elegant 114 and 70 to attract stage.
Those preventing qualities had been initially on present within the night, with Ding who needed to come by qualifying after slipping simply exterior of the world’s high 16 ranked gamers, punishing O’Sullivan’s miss on a blue to the top-left pocket to get again to 5-5 with a break of 56 after the Englishman took the primary body of the night with an 89.
A contribution of 52 and a tremendous 104 break, his second century of the competition, allowed him to revive parity once more after O’Sullivan went 7-5 forward with runs of 87 and 79.
But in the long run he merely had no reply as O’Sullivan raced to the road with a 100, a 74 and the best break of the ultimate.
“It’s been an excellent week ranging from the primary match,” mentioned Ding.
“I do know it was going to be very robust towards Ronnie. I like myself taking part in like this. It could be very cool.”
