Ronnie O’Sullivan clinches Champion of Champions 2022 title in style after Judd Trump 147 in classic final
Updated 06/11/2022 at 22:46 GMT
A rollercoaster day in the Champion of Champions final saw Ronnie O’Sullivan seal yet another title in his illustrious career as he ultimately emerged a victor over Judd Trump. Trump looked down and out of it until a spectacular eighth frame saw him make - out of nowhere - his seventh televised 147. But O'Sullivan held his composure to close out the victory in the evening session.
'You have to have that intensity' - O'Sullivan on Trump success
Ronnie O’Sullivan sealed his fourth Champion of Champions title with a 10-6 victory over reigning champion Judd Trump.
In a match billed as a potential classic, it was one-way traffic for most of the afternoon session with O’Sullivan winning six of the opening seven frames.
O’Sullivan made a superb start to the match with breaks of 96 and 103 to take a 2-0 lead.
He could have won the third frame, but over-cut a red to the bottom left pocket, which Trump pounced on to get himself on the scoreboard.
The next four frames were scrappy and all were won by an efficient O’Sullivan.
Trump potted a green at the end of a tight fourth frame, only to go in-off with the white, a simple missed red meant he was not able to steal the fifth, and more missed chances gave O’Sullivan a 5-1 lead.
With confidence low and momentum on his opponent’s side, Trump wasn’t getting the run of the balls and ran out of position after a break of 31, so O’Sullivan picked up the scraps once again to go even further ahead at 6-1.
Remarkably, Trump dug in and found something special in the eighth frame after starting with a thin red to the green pocket. Red-black-red-black, the sequence continued and he was on for a maximum.
O’Sullivan had largely dominated Trump, but the latter made a 147 in the penultimate frame and crucially won the final two frames before the evening session.
The key moment came when he split a pack of five reds which meant everything was on. He cleared up in style to make his seventh televised 147 to the delight of the crowd.
It gave Trump a big boost as he then won the final frame with a break of 96 of the afternoon to limit his deficit to three frames.
It was a spectacular moment as Trump made a maximum from nowhere in the eighth frame.
Trump opened the evening session with a poor break that opened the door for O'Sullivan, who blazed into a four frame lead with a century break.
Trump needed to hit back.
He did just that, winning the next frame to cut O'Sullivan's lead to three.
He was playing aggressively, still needing plenty to go his way, and took the next frame to cut further into O'Sullivan's advantage.
It took just 15 minutes for him to claim his third in succession ahead of the interval.
At the break it was 7-6 to O'Sullivan, but all the momentum was with the reigning champion.
Trump had totalled 245 points to O'Sullivan's 106 in an impressive comeback.
O'Sullivan hadn't potted a ball for three frames at the interval.
After the break, a sloppy shot from Trump gave O’Sullivan the chance to get his first pot in nearly 40 minutes of playing time. He took the opportunity, and much more besides.
Rocket responded with his third century of the match, sweeping up the frame with almost faultless play.
Trump’s momentum was halted, or at least stalled, with the lead back to two frames.
O’Sullivan took over the match in the 15th frame, again seizing the opportunity given him by Trump to extend his lead to 9-6 with an 85-point break with the black out of commission.
With his back to the wall in a sudden death frame, Trump was looking good but faltered after just an 18-point break.
That opened the door for O’Sullivan once again, and the three-time champion moved in for the kill.
He sealed his 77th professional title with an 81-point break.
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