O'Sullivan wins thriller

An incredible match swung first towards Selby then O'Sullivan before The Rocket grafted his way to a brilliant final break in the 18th frame.

It was O'Sullivan's fourth Masters title, and was hard won in one of the best finals ever seen at the tournament.

The Rocket' was soon up and running though with a break of 68 in the first frame which left Selby requiring snookers. The world number four returned to the table to feel his way into the match but it was to no avail and O'Sullivan took the first frame.

O'Sullivan's patience was rewarded in the next as he opted not to try to force his way over the frame-winning line after a break of 40. A mistake was forced from Selby and the world champion went 2-0 up.

Selby made a nerve-settling break of 82 to reduce the gap to one frame in the third before O'Sullivan made it 3-1 at the mid-session interval - his seventh century of the week.

Both players missed opportunities to build a frame-winning break after the restart. O'Sullivan was looking very comfortable with some impressive left-handed pots but missed one of the easier shots along the side cushion.

Another chance passed 'The Rocket' by with a miss on the brown and virtual frame-ball which was followed by one of the shots of the tournament.

Selby covered the distance of the table to pot the brown and gain position on the blue. That shot set up a clearance which gave the reigning champion a very important close frame.

An improvement in Selby's safety approach led to him making a frame-winning 76 to level at 3-3 and moved ahead for the first time with the next.

A break of 50 by the 25-year old from Leicester should have been more and Selby later fouled from a snooker of his own creation when the frame had been sewn-up. Selby later breathed a sigh of relief though to take the frame when O'Sullivan left the brown over the pocket.

'The Rocket' unusually took over two minutes thinking time during another high-quality safety duel at the start of frame eight. Selby followed that with a run of 53 before missing to the bottom-left corner and O'Sullivan stepped in to clinch the final frame of the first session with a cool 41 clearance to make it all-square.

The players re-emerged from the intermission to a little razzmatazz with stage lights and music and the dramatic play reflected the theatrical entrance.

Selby looked to have frame nine wrapped-up but got himself into enormous trouble despite O'Sullivan requiring two snookers. An in-off and a missed straightforward snooker escape by Selby though let O'Sullivan off the hook.

The three-times world champion needed the help of the most outrageous fluke and a red found a route from the jaws of the bottom-left corner to the 'yellow' pocket. O'Sullivan cleaned up the colours and made an incredible steal.

Selby soon removed that loss from his mind in the best possible fashion. A mistake-laden 11th frame was concluded with a well compiled 101 break to make it 5-5 and he then regained the lead in the next with an 89.

A fantastic total clearance of 117 gave the 'Jester from Leicester' a two-frame advantage.

'The Rocket' stormed back with three frames in a row including a steal from under the nose of the 'Jester' in frame 14, and a 110 to go 8-7 up.

Selby showed his mettle with a break of 69 in the next to go all-square again before O'Sullivan won the 17th to go within one of victory.

Nervous, cagey play led to a series of re-racks and the 18th frame was a scrappy affair, but when O'Sullivan got a chance on a well-spread table he grafted to put together a break.

With the pink and black both safe it was a hard-fought opportunity, but O'Sullivan's brilliant position play let him roll in a black along the cushion and the match was effectively over. O'Sullivan quickly potted enough balls to put him over the line, and Selby conceded at the next missed ball.