World Snooker Championship final LIVE scores - Ronnie O'Sullivan eyes famous Crucible triumph over Judd Trump
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Updated 02/05/2022 at 21:38 GMT
It has all come down to this. Ronnie O'Sullivan will resume his battle with Judd Trump in the final of the World Championship at the Crucible. O'Sullivan takes a commanding position with him into Monday's final sessions and is eyeing a famous record-equalling triumph. Stream the 2022 World Championship and more top snooker action live and on-demand on discovery+
‘He can’t let him go!’ – O’Sullivan embraces Trump after winning seventh title
That'll do us
Just like that, it's done. A superb World Championship - is there any other kind - is over, and finishes with an ascension to greatness. Congratulations once more to our world champion, Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan, who made history here tonight. Commiserations to Judd Trump, who took the argument as far as he could and will be back with gusto next season.
Lastly, thanks to all of you, for following this. Night night.
Anyone for eight?
So, can he do it again, and set a benchmark all of his own? Ronnie looks shattered, and opens up about how difficult it's been to emotionally detach himself and lock in on this 17 day treadmill that is unlike any other event in snooker, and anything else in sport. There are some great, great players still out there - Judd obviously, his class of 92 alumni John Higgins and Mark Williams, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby and a slew of others who all want to get their mits on that trophy. When Ronnie is on it though - whether he's 17 or 46 - there simply isn't another player as good as him, and there never has been.
More Ronnie talk
Ronnie joins Radzi, Angles and the Wind in the Eurosport studio. He gives Jimmy a big kiss, and wishes him happy birthday. He doesn't go into detail about that emotional chat with Trump, but looks utterly flattered by whatever it was exchanged between the two. 'I didn't realise what he thought of me until then,' says Ronnie. In describing the moment further, Ronnie is holding back tears. 'It done me,' he says. 'It done me in.' It's probably the kind of chat that can only be shared by two people who've pushed each other to the brink, and who operate at a level us mortals can't comprehend. We don't know what was said, and we shouldn't mind it staying that way if they so choose. Let's leave a little bit of magic in this world, eh?
Rocket Man
He won the UK Championship as a 17-year old in 1993; he’s now won his seventh world title at 46. That’s seven each of the UK Championship, the Masters and the World Championship for Ronnie now, a royal pontoon of Triple Crown triumphs. What matters most though is those seven Crucible gongs. That draws him level with Stephen Hendry, but even before tonight the argument about who was the greatest player ever was over. If Hendry says it's so, then you don't need to know any more than that.
What a player, what a person, what bliss in this dawn to be alive and see him play. It’s been the greatest privilege of my sport-watching life to witness his career. He is to snooker what Diego Maradona was to football, Michael Jordan to basketball, Usain Bolt to athletics and Shane Warne to cricket; a one-off, a force of nature, a maverick and a genius.
Enjoy him, because who knows when this game - hell, sport in general - will see the like again.
The title
Judd, who will be back and no mistake, takes the runners-up prize and acknowledges the crowd. Then Ronnie steps forward, for the seventh time, to ascend to true greatness and lift the World Championship trophy. Confetti comes tumbling down, and the roof damn near comes off this old theatre. We've witnessed something incredibly special here tonight. In describing it in the Eurosport studio, his great friend Jimmy White has a touch of the wobbles in his voice as he says how proud he is. Game again recognises game; Jimmy played the game the way we love to see it, as does Ronnie, and so to does Judd.
Ronnie talks
An emotional Ronnie pays it back; he says Judd is already an all-time great, and calls beating him his greatest ever victory. I don't think any of us are qualified to argue with that either. The mutual appreciation between these two is affectionate and clearly genuine. Game recognise game. Hazel Irvine asks Ronnie if it's an honour to be on seven titles with the great Stephen Hendry. 'We can share it for a year,' zings Ronnie, with a big, beaming smile on his kipper.
Judd speaks
He's pushed Ronnie more than any player has in this tournament, but Judd acknowledges greatness when he sees it. What an effort from him today, but he knows he's been outplayed over the two days. Judd pays tribute to Ronnie's influence on him, and calls him the greatest of all time. Who are we to argue?
Ronnie O'Sullivan wins his seventh world title
What a magnificent, incomparable sportsperson he is. Ronnie goes over to Judd and they have a big hug. Ronnie is visibly emotional, and he's whispering something into Judd's ear. It's a long, heartfelt embrace. That's such a lovely moment.
O'Sullivan 18-13 Trump
Can he complete the victory lap with a century? Not quite, but a break of 85 puts the lid on it and he's the champion again! The oldest champion in history! With his seventh world title, equalling the modern-era record! If you're sat down at home, stand up and applaud!
O'Sullivan 17-13 Trump (61-0)
Ronnie glides to a half-century. He's taking his time here, making sure, but he's on frame ball red now...and there it is! He's done it! Ronnie O'Sullivan, the greatest genius this game has ever seen, is going to win world title number seven!
O'Sullivan 17-13 Trump (38-0)
Here's that chance, as a containing safety from Judd leaves a red along the cushion to the bottom right. It's a slight cut back but Ronnie drops it in softly, flicks a red out of the way of the black in the process and it's all there for him. In no time, he's up to 30. There's the kind of spread of reds around the pink that he could put away half asleep, and this could be it.
O'Sullivan 17-13 Trump (8-0)
Judd misses a red long to the bottom left, watching it jaw out of that pocket, then the bottom right, and sit up over the right middle. Ronnie banks a quick red-blue-red, but in opening the pack he doesn't land on a colour and has to play safe. He soon pots another red, from distance this time, but doesn't land on a colour once more; the one clear chance he's looking for is proving elusive so far.
O'Sullivan 17-13 Trump
Judd registers a 109, which pegs a frame back for him and in turn means a record number of total centuries for a World Championship.
O'Sullivan 17-12 Trump (0-80)
A blue to right middle clears the winning line in the frame, and Judd's going to win another one. He's looked really good today, but has left himself so much to do and it looks like being too much.
O'Sullivan 17-12 Trump (0-66)
Judd's break eventually ends on 38 as he fails to open the pack of reds. He gets another chance though when Ronnie misses a thin contact safety and leaves a free ball in baulk. Judd has a load on and starts taking them, and the frame looks a certainty.
O'Sullivan 17-12 Trump (0-32)
We're back, and what a task facing Judd here. He needs a run of six frames to stop Ronnie's coronation, an Everest of a task. Still, may as well have a shy at it; he cracks a long red into the bottom right, and lands on the black. Judd looks like he's decided to go for everything now, and a couple of spectacular pots on a thin black and red keep his break going early, followed by a gently guided red long to the green pocket. The black follows that, and he won't be going home wondering, that's for sure.
O'Sullivan 17-12 Trump
A break of 75 extends Ronnie's lead to five frames, and in barely an hour he's jammed the brakes on Judd's comeback and stands on the cusp of greatness.
That's the interval, we'll be back in 20 minutes.
O'Sullivan 16-12 Trump (67-1)
There goes frame ball red, and Ronnie is playing superbly tonight. When we return after the interval, he'll be one frame away from history.
O'Sullivan 16-12 Trump (50-1)
Ronnie finds a good recovery red to the yellow pocket, before affecting a good split on the reds off the blue. If he can clear a red out of the way to free the black to the bottom left, he looks likely to walk this chance in.
O'Sullivan 16-12 Trump (16-1)
Judd needs to win at least 6-1 from here, and he's prepared to gamble. He cross-doubles a red into the right middle, played with safety in mind, and then takes on and misses a tough brown to the same pocket. Ronnie makes a quick 16 but can't open the pack when playing into it off the bottom cushion, but from the resulting poor safety Judd misses a difficult red to right middle and he's handed a chance to Ronnie.
O'Sullivan 16-12 Trump
It's 64 for Judd, and Ronnie waves it off.
O'Sullivan 16-11 Trump (27-65)
Judd brings one of the reds out, pots it, and then drops in behind frame ball red along the bottom cushion after stunning in the blue. It's a big shot, and Judd calmly rolls it in; he's still in there, tugging at Ronnie's coat tails.
O'Sullivan 16-11 Trump (27-42)
He won't go quietly tonight. Left with nothing other than a red long to the yellow pocket, Judd drives it into the heart of the pocket and he's on the brown. He then splits a cluster of reds below the pink after potting the blue, and quickly hits the front in this frame. There are three reds still out there that are hugging cushions though, so there's a lot of work to do to get this one sorted.
O'Sullivan 16-11 Trump (27-8)
Judd gambles on a deadweight red, cut long to the bottom right, but it's rolled offline and he's missed it. Ronnie's on a red to the right middle and in it goes, but he soon misses a short red to the bottom right along the cushion and he's left it for Judd, who takes red-black but can't find a red to go for after splitting the pack.
O'Sullivan 16-11 Trump (21-0)
Ronnie's going for it here. He glides in a red to the bottom right, followed by a blue into the yellow pocket to stay close to the reds. This is scintillating stuff from him so far tonight, but he loses the potting line to his next red on 21 and that feels like a big reprieve for Judd.
O'Sullivan 16-11 Trump
He's a different player tonight. An 88 from Ronnie puts him two frames away from the title.
O'Sullivan 15-11 Trump (64-12)
Ronnie was flat this afternoon, but he looks to have his sharpness back tonight. He's put the frame to bed already, and it's been a swift reassertion of authority so far tonight. If Judd's errors are going to be punished this heavily, this final could run away from him quickly.
O'Sullivan 15-11 Trump (40-12)
A poor positional shot from Judd leaves him welded to a red, and having to bridge awkwardly to pot the black. He rolls it deadweight, but it hangs in the jaws of the bottom right and he's handed a chance to Ronnie. There's a cluster of three near the pink spot but everything is open outside of that, and Ronnie is racking points quickly here. He soon splits those three reds and he's up to 40 and counting already here.
O'Sullivan 15-11 Trump (0-11)
Judd bullets a red into the bottom left, but lands so close to the blue that he's not got a shot on a colour. Safety follows, but Ronnie leaves a red to the bottom right and Judd sweeps that in too, this time landing on the green. He pots that and goes straight into the pack, but that doesn't work out for him either. A third red, hosed into the bottom right, looks like creating a chance that might stick as Judd screws back and lands on the blue.
O'Sullivan 15-11 Trump
The frame duly does go, and that's 25% of Ronnie's task for the evening completed with a break of 82.
O'Sullivan 14-11 Trump (50-12)
This is the chance Ronnie must have been hoping for in the opening frame. He loses position slightly on the pink but drops it in the left middle, deep-screwing off two cushions to land on his next red. That's a superb shot, and the half-century is soon secured. From here, the frame looks a given.
O'Sullivan 14-11 Trump (13-12)
Ronnie catches a safety far too thick at the start of frame 26, and he's left a mid-range red to the bottom right. Judd drops it in with the rest, but can only make 12 after landing awkward on the black and ending up stuck to the pack after potting it. Some cagey safety follows, but good signs here for Ronnie; he launches a long red into the bottom right, guides a mid-range blue into the green pocket and a trip into the pack just about leaves him on red to bottom left. That goes, he's on the pink and it's an early chance.
Let's have it
The players stride out into the Crucible Theatre to settle this match, and it is utterly buzzing out there. It's the final session of the 2022 World Snooker Championship, hold on to your hats.
Legacy
There's so much on the line tonight. If Ronnie can hit eighteen first he'll win his seventh world title, equalling a modern-era record, and become the oldest Crucible-era world champion. Judd, on the other hand, could change the perception of his whole career. Right now he's an unbelievably talented winner of each of the Triple Crowns, but hasn't accumulated them in multiples to force his way up the list of the best to ever play this game. If he pulls off one of the most epic comebacks in Crucible history tonight, that conversation changes. Alongside all this, there's a cool half a mill for grabs for the winner too.
Tonight, tonight
So, which way is this going to go? You'd want Judd's momentum from the afternoon session, but would you trade it for the current scoreline? Regardless, the facts are that it's 14-11 to Ronnie and he's still the favourite. For what it's worth, I'd expect Ronnie to regroup and nurse this through; Judd's not been at his lights out best at any point in this tournament, and that includes earlier today. What do I know though? We may well end up following the final black around the table in a decider here.
Good evening!
The procession is off, the pressure is on instead. Judd Trump has scrapped his way back into this final, and now trails Ronnie O’Sullivan by just three frames as we kick-off this evening session. The winning line is there, and they can both see it; we should be in for some evening at the Crucible.
Ronnie needs four, Judd needs seven; grab a drink and hold on to something.
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That's us for the afternoon
We'll be back from 6.45pm BST for the conclusion of a final that now has some serious heat under it.
Judd Trump strikes back at Ronnie O'Sullivan
Hats off to Judd there, because he looked all over the place at points last night and left himself a mountain to climb today. He's put the crampons on his boots and he's making a real go of it though, winning that session 6-2 to take a huge chunk out of Ronnie's lead. When we return, Ronnie will need four and Judd seven; the tension's ratcheted right up at the Crucible this afternoon and we could be set for an explosive evening.
O'Sullivan 14-11 Trump
The frame is soon in the bank and Judd lets his arm go to round off with a 105 and win the final frame of the afternoon. This hasn't completely turned around, but look at that gap now! Ronnie leads by three frames, and we could be in for a dramatic finish tonight. As well he might, Judd leaves the Crucible with a huge grin on his kipper.
O'Sullivan 14-10 Trump (0-60)
Ronnie gets a touch, clanging into the pink after a missed shot to nothing and fortuitously finding his way back to baulk. And how about this for Judd - he misses a wild thrash at a red to the bottom left, sends reds everywhere and looks to have left the frame on, until a stray red drops into the left middle! They've fallen like a practice table for him, and he's on the pink. That's a potentially huge moment in this match. Judd's added 39 already and it looks impossible to miss from here.
O'Sullivan 14-10 Trump (0-21)
Big frame klaxon, as this will make a huge difference to the mood music ahead of the evening session. Ronnie get the first chance, but can't drive a long red into the bottom right. It falls near the green pocket, and Judd picks it off with the rest. Thereafter he gives the pack a whack after potting the blue, drops in a plant and soon goes into the reds again. It's not a good split and he's welded to a red, so decides to head back to baulk.
O'Sullivan 14-10 Trump
Given how today has gone this is a huge effort from Ronnie, and the cue ball is having to do some mileage. He's not always landing on the right side of the blue, which isn't helping, but he's traversed the winning line with a half-century and the blue that follows is additional insurance. He then misses a red to the bottom left with the rest; Judd surveys the table and with three snookers required, decides to fold it.
O'Sullivan 13-10 Trump (29-1)
The flip side of fearless is reckless; with a much easier safety as an option, Judd decides to gamble everything on a long red to the bottom left. It's such a tough shot and it misses by a long way, sending reds everywhere. The pink and black are tied up so Ronnie will have to utilise blue and baulk colours for now, but it's a hand-on-the-table chance with so many loose reds to play on.
O'Sullivan 13-10 Trump (6-1)
So Trump is going to win the session, and we've still got two frames to go here. This is such an important stanza coming up, and all of the momentum is with Judd right now. Ronnie catches the brown from a safety and leaves a red to the bottom right. Judd rattles it in furiously, but then misses a black off its spot to the bottom right! My days, this is tense Ronnie cleans up a loose red and splits the pack off the blue, but he lands on nothing; it's not running for him this afternoon.
O'Sullivan 13-10 Trump
...and he does! It's five out of six for Judd, and we've got ourselves a live on here!
O'Sullivan 13-9 Trump (51-40)
In a brilliant, tit-for-tat safety exchange Judd blinks first, eventually leaving a red on to the bottom right, and Ronnie sweeps it in to land on the brown. He then takes on a brutally tough red along the cushion, and he's missed it and left it in the jaws of the bottom left! Can Judd dish here? He tidies up the reds, and then survives a heart-stopping moment as the blue wipes its feet before dropping into the left middle, but he's on the yellow and needs to clear to the pink...
O'Sullivan 13-9 Trump (46-27)
Judd goes into the pack after potting the blue, and needs to snick in a tricky red with the spider to keep going. He does so, but finishes high on the black and misses it to the bottom right. It's not the easiest of chances for Ronnie, but a tidy red-blue-red to get going sets up a blue to open the remaining pack, which he does and he's on a red. A recovery blue to the green pocket a few shots later keeps him going, but he can't do likewise with a red to bottom left soon after and that ends his break on 30. The reds are safe, and this upcoming safety exchange feels like a big moment in the match.
O'Sullivan 13-9 Trump (16-0)
From the bottom cushion Ronnie misses a red long to the yellow pocket. He just about covers the potting angle on it to the left middle, but Judd tries to swerve around the brown and drop the red in deadweight. That's a hugely risky shot, and he's missed it and left it. Ronnie's in, but his early pack split goes awry and he misses a red high on the knuckle of the right middle. Judd's on an easy starter, and it's another chance for him.
O'Sullivan 13-9 Trump
This should see Judd home in this one. Despite being hampered by cueing over the green and brown, Judd jabs in a red from distance to the bottom right and he's perfect on the pink. He quickly makes sure of the frame with a 23, and he's won four of the five frames so far today. If he can win this mini-session too, we're in for some evening.
O'Sullivan 13-8 Trump (20-43)
Judd almost misses a red to the bottom right, rattling it in, and then plays an awful positional shot when potting the black. He finds a recovery red but ends up stranded in baulk, and has no option other than to tuck in behind the green. It's a brutal snooker as all four remaining reds are in the open, but Ronnie escapes it without leaving anything on.
O'Sullivan 13-8 Trump (20-2)
We go again, as they say. Judd breaks, Ronnie misses a long red to the bottom left and Judd converts a red to right middle to get going. That leaves him a dainty cut back on the black to the bottom left...and he doesn't put enough on it and it doesn't reach! Could that be expensive? Ronnie's away, brings a few more reds into play after potting the blue and cracking the pack off two cushions, but soon misses a cut back on a red to the bottom left. Judd wriggles a red into the left middle, and what a chance this is.
O'Sullivan 13-8 Trump
He's not under the pressure Judd is, but that was a gutsy dish from Ronnie. A 64 sorts the frame, and he leads by five once more. If he'd been wiped in that session that would really have had the Crucible rumbling, but he'll be more relaxed over his cup of tea now.
Speaking of which, we'll be back with you in 15 minutes.
O'Sullivan 12-8 Trump (54-45)
There's one awkward red near the left rail, but everything else looks like it should be routine for Ronnie. He tidies up a quick 46, but can't stun and run through off two cushions to land on red to bottom left. What a shot he's played here though - he's glided the red thin across the table and into the bottom right, and he's on the green! He'll need up to the brown for the frame.
O'Sullivan 12-8 Trump (7-45)
Judd loses position briefly after landing straight on the black, but recovers off his next shot to drop a red into the left middle and land on the pink. This could be the first significant swing of the day though; Judd misses a plant to the right middle high on the knuckle, and he's left Ronnie in with a chance to counter.
O'Sullivan 12-8 Trump (7-16)
If Judd sweeps this mini-session than that really will introduce a cat to a bunch of pigeons. He gets a look at a red to the bottom right after Ronnie's break-off shot, but he's missed it by a long way and left one to the left middle. It's Ronnie's first chance for some time, but he misses a black off its spot to the bottom right and it's another chance for Judd. At the earliest juncture Judd opens the pack when potting a red, and he's landed on the black.
O'Sullivan 12-8 Trump
It's three in a row for Judd, as he sails over the winning line in the frame with a break of 46.
O'Sullivan 12-7 Trump (0-54)
Ronnie fails to escape the ensuing snooker at the first attempt, achieves it on the second but that gives Judd the window to drop a nerveless red across the table and into the bottom right. There's so much pressure on him with the lead that Ronnie has, but he's making some fist of this so far. He adds another 19 and counting, and he's looking nailed on to win this mini-session and take this argument into the evening session.
O'Sullivan 12-7 Trump (0-31)
Judd's warming up here. He strokes a long red into the bottom right, and gets a handy kiss on the brown that gives him the chance to come back down the table. The break reaches 23 when Judd launches the blue into the left middle, develops the pack and the frame's on for him now. Going in and out of baulk doesn't work out for him though as he catches the brown and ends up stranded there, and that's end of break.
O'Sullivan 12-7 Trump
The balls are well placed for snookers here, and Ronnie picks up four points from one when Judd goes in-off. A double kiss on his next effort from the D though leaves the red on to the bottom right for Judd. A further 30 are added, with Judd doing his naughty snooker bit on blue and pink, and that's the frame.
O'Sullivan 12-6 Trump (21-67)
Judd starts to punish, and they are all there for him. He reaches a half-century with the black and drops in perfectly behind frame ball red, which he drops in with the rest, and the black to follow makes sure. Ronnie comes back to the table needing three snookers, and will go for them, more than anything to disrupt Judd's early rhythm here.
O'Sullivan 12-6 Trump (21-8)
It's a solitary red and no more from Ronnie in response, but his patience pays off when Judd shorts a safety and leaves a cut on a red to the bottom right. Ronnie drops it in, hoovers up the brown, quickly rehouses the black to it's natural home and these are the situations in which Ronnie has been mercliless in the last fortnight. Amazingly, he then misses a virtually straight red to the bottom left, and he's absolutely served this up for Judd.
O'Sullivan 12-6 Trump (7-8)
Ronnie glides in a long red as a shot to nothing to start frame 19, and has control of the safety exchange that ensues. Judd catches pink first on one such shot to give six away, and then survives missing a thin cut on a red and leaving Ronnie near the bottom cushion when no easy pot is on offer as a result. It's an intriguing start from Ronnie, who's turned down a few long ones; he has no need to force this, so is just trying to lean on Judd until he forces a mistake. He's made an error here though, leaving a red over the bottom right. Judd glides it in, forces the white through the pack and he's on the pink. It's a chance but he's soon left with a difficult black to keep going. 'Sometimes you've just got to say no,' says Joe Johnson in co-comms. Eschewing this ethos, Judd takes it on to the bottom right and he's missed it.
O'Sullivan 12-6 Trump
Every journey starts with a single step as they say. Judd opens with a 107 to take the frame.
O'Sullivan 12-5 Trump (22-58)
A gutsy cut on the black along the rail by Judd quickly turns this into a chance to win the frame. He needs another good recovery shot moments later and finds it, gliding a pink into the right middle from an acute angle and he's got this break under control now. A red to the bottom right brings up his half-century and lands the white straight on the pink; a couple more reds and this one will be done.
O'Sullivan 12-5 Trump (22-8)
With no other shot available Judd tries to make a difficult plant to the bottom left, and he's missed it. That leaves Ronnie a shy at a tough red to the left middle; he's been in an aggressive mood throughout this final and he goes for it, nails it, and he's on the blue but position soon deserts him. That's another let-off for Judd in this frame. The reds are spread very dangerously here, and whoever gets in next will have a load on. Ronnie then misses a thin contact safety and Judd has it put back, causing more titters and banter in light of what happened yesterday. At the second attempt Ronnie clips the red but careers into the blue, and he's left Judd in.
O'Sullivan 12-5 Trump (16-4)
Ronnie goes in-off as the session opens with a stanza of safety play. He's in now though, as Judd gambles on a deadweight long red to the bottom left and it doesn't drop. That leaves Ronnie an easy starter, and it looks a good chance until a canon onto a nearby red leaves Ronnie on nothing and nixes his break on 16.
Here we go
Rob Walker introduces the players to a Crucible Theatre that is absolutely amped. They've paid a good whack to be here today, and will want to drain as much out of this experience as they can. Let's get about it then; either Ronnie will become the oldest ever Crucible champion and equal Stephen Hendry's record of seven modern era world titles, or Judd will make our jaws hit the floor with a comeback for the ages. Eyes down, let's have it.
For your digestion
We've got about 15 minutes before we get going here, so in the meantime why not treat yourself to a great read on why this game and this tournament are so compelling and addictive.
A quick happy birthday
The Wind is 60 today. Many happy returns Jimmy!
The Dream Final
It’s in danger of becoming a gentle snooze, isn’t it? If Judd can’t close the gap significantly in this afternoon session, then it could be a procession for Ronnie. In his favour, Judd was once 9-4 down to a similarly dominant Ronnie in the 2014 UK Championship final, before a five-frame blitz from him forced a decider. The bad news for Judd is that at this World Championship, Ronnie has yet to lose a session.
Good afternoon!
We’re back, and it’s the final day of the 2022 World Snooker Championship. It’s time to sort out the big one and see who takes the title and the 500 large that comes with it.
At the moment, it looks nailed on to be Ronnie O’Sullivan. He’s sailed serenely through this tournament so far, brushing his opponents aside without being stretched, and that carried on yesterday. Despite two verbal tête-à-têtes with referee Olivier Marteel he did not get distracted, as we’ve seen with previous iterations of Ronnie, and established a 12-5 lead in the final.
On the end of that was a visibly weary Judd Trump. After pulling his semi-final out of the fire against Mark Williams on Saturday, the tank seemed empty yesterday. It’s been the story of his tournament as the 2019 champion has never really caught fire at the Crucible this year. If he can’t find something today, this could be over very quickly; Judd needs the kind of comeback that would make Lazarus look a slacker.
He's had a night’s kip though and starts afresh today. We could only see six frames, we may get the full 17; let’s get tuned in and see how this one pans out.
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Welcome back for the final day
It has all come down to this: the final day of the 2022 World Championship at the Crucible.
Ronnie O'Sullivan will resume his battle with Judd Trump in the final of the World Championship at the Crucible with everything on the line. It does not get any better than this.
O'Sullivan has assumed a commanding position in the match and takes that advantage with him into Monday's final sessions as he eyes a famous record-equalling triumph.
O’Sullivan is just six frames away from a record-equalling seventh title at the Crucible in Sheffield after blowing Trump away to lead the final 12-5 ahead of the resumption of play on Monday.
Despite the near-constant drama, O'Sullivan sparkled. He complained early on about a security guard, invited referee Olivier Martell to "try it then" in an argument about a ball placement, and then had another extraordinary spat with him later on.
The pair return on Monday afternoon (13:00 BST) for eight more frames, with Trump needing at least three to ensure the tournament showdown heads to the final session (19:00 BST).
Even if Trump manages to significantly improve his level when the duo come back to the table, Eurosport experts Jimmy White and Alan McManus regard O'Sullivan as "unstoppable" given the way that he is currently playing at the Crucible.
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‘You should be very forceful as a referee’ – McManus and White on O’Sullivan-ref spat
"It just looks like a masterclass," White said in the Eurosport studio.
"He is just flowing around the table; he is at such ease. His cue-ball control is there.
"He looks a bit tired to me, Ron, as well, which is understandable.
"Trump is below-par, we have to say that. He hasn't put Ronnie under any sort of pressure. But Ronnie is just getting stronger and stronger and stronger.
"He keeps clocking that scoreboard and these frames keep going up there - and he looks unstoppable."
Alan McManus added: "His cue ball was outstanding. It was a sparkling session.
"There was a mini-blemish, and that is the tiniest of blemishes, and that was the long red that let Judd in. But he was imperious. It was brilliant."
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