Scottish Open 2020 as it happened - Mark Selby dominates Ronnie O'Sullivan to win the final

Updated 13/12/2020 at 21:17 GMT

Scottish Open 2020 LIVE - It's the final day at the third Home Nations event of the season with Ronnie O'Sullivan taking on his old rival Mark Selby. World champion O'Sullivan, who beat Selby in an absolute epic at the Crucible in the semi-finals, takes on a man who he has had famous battles with over the last few years.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby

Image credit: Eurosport

That's all folks

Thanks for sticking with us throughout a thoroughly entertaining week, rounded off by that awesome performance from Selby today. Ta ra for now, be well.

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Mark Selby is the 2020 Scottish Open Champion

What a record Selbz has in this tournament; he's entered twice, and he's won it twice. That's back-to-back Scottish Open titles for The Jester, the most awesome force that the game has produced post the famous Class of 92. He'll take the Stephen Hendry Trophy home to Leicester, and equals a record that was set by the great man the prize is named after; Selby has won the last 11 ranking event finals that he's reached, a phenomenal achievement. Congratulations to that man, a thoroughly deserved winner -again - of the Scottish Open.

Selby's view

He doesn't feel he played that well - and in comparison to his awesome semi-final against Jamie Jones, he's right - but his record against the greatest player we've seen in finals is now 6-3. That is incredible, whichever way you cut it. He gets his hands on the trophy, and the seventy large will soon by filling his bank account. That's his second title of the season, to go alongside his victory at the European Masters.

Ronnie speaks

He's very gracious in defeat, and he can't really argue about the score today. Although he hasn't won a tournament in the Milton Keynes bubble, he's been in two finals, so he's not in bad nick despite all the trouble with his cue tip this week. I sense we'll see a different player at Alexandra Palace for the Masters, hopefully with some fans through the doors.

O'Sullivan 3-9 Selby

He's done it! Selby pulls up short on the pink, which necessitates sending the white right around the table to land on the black. It leaves a thin cut to the bottom right for the title...but it's there! It's frame, match and the Scottish Open title to Mark Selby!

O'Sullivan 3-8 Selby (64-49)

The red O'Sullivan missed is the only ball that can bail him here, as it's gone onto the right rail. Selby drops in behind it though, and drills it in perfectly to land on the blue. That goes, and it's the colours from their spots for the title for Mark...

O'Sullivan 3-8 Selby (64-28)

Oh, what a shame! I think he had the maxi on his mind there, because he takes his eye off a simple red and misses it to the bottom right. As it is, he may well have played his last shot; these are set to go, and Selby will want this sorted before the intermission. He's putting the points together here, and he's shifted the red from under the pink into a potting position.

O'Sullivan 3-8 Selby (48-0)

Shall we get excited? Why not! It's six reds and six blacks so far, and all remaining reds are in the open bar one which is welded to the pink. Come on Ronnie...

O'Sullivan 3-8 Selby (24-0)

Right then, Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan, can you take us past the interval. There's no room for errors from him now, but here's one from Selby; he's missed a red to the bottom left and Ronnie's right in the balls. This is a big chance, with the reds spread nicely and the black on into both corners. Worth noting for O'Sullivan fans that Ronnie did run Judd Trump close in the Northern Ireland Open, almost making it 8-8 from 7-3 behind before going on to lose 9-7, so don't be going anywhere.

O'Sullivan 3-8 Selby

Selby knocks in the brown and the blue, and will inwardly be breathing a huge sigh of relief. Ronnie plays on, needing three snookers, before Selby rolls in the pink deadweight. It's another frame for Selby, who is now just one away from retaining his title.

O'Sullivan 3-7 Selby (48-68)

O'Sullivan runs into the black when trying to escape a snooker, and he now needs all five while just the green for Selby will leave Ronnie needing a snooker. Selby then gets a look at a green to the bottom left; it's painfully thin, and he misses it and leaves it there for O'Sullivan. That goes, but O'Sullivan gets nowhere close on a difficult brown to the green pocket and he's left it for Selby. That should be that.

O'Sullivan 3-7 Selby (45-61)

A lot of players would be spooked by the enormity of having the greatest player ever up against it like this; not Selby, who has seen this film before and chosen his own ending. He now advances to the colours with his break on 59. Just the baulk ones needed to put him one away from the title...and oh my days, he's missed the green to it's own pocket! That's extraordinary, but he's not left it for O'Sullivan. The last five colours for the frame it is then, and they're huge!

O'Sullivan 3-7 Selby (45-22)

Now then, what will the cost of this be? Ronnie misses a difficult red to the bottom right while using the extended cue and the rest, and he's left Selby right in. Mark splits the pack when potting a blue, leaving a thin cut on a red to the bottom right that he slashes in to land on the green. What a chance he's got here.

O'Sullivan 3-7 Selby (37-0)

An attempted cross-double by Selby misses, and leave O'Sullivan a red to the left middle. That goes, and Ronnie brings the black into play off the side cushion as he does so to land on the brown. That's an excellent shot, and off the brown he plays an aggressive shot to open the pack off one cushion. Just like that, he's flying; it's 37 and counting.

O'Sullivan 3-7 Selby

O'Sullivan clears up to the blue, and that's the frame. He's hanging in there!

O'Sullivan 2-7 Selby (74-40)

Five of the six reds were clustered beneath the pink, but Selby has opened them up expertly here. A sweet long red to the green pocket kept him going early on, and five blacks with the first five reds have got him right back into this. He takes the sixth and awkward last red with the rest down the right of the table...and he's rattled it in the jaws and left it there for O'Sullivan! What a reprieve, as Mark was inching in on a sensational steal there.

O'Sullivan 2-7 Selby (74-0)

It's 62 for O'Sullivan, who misses frame ball red along the bottom cushion and he's left it in the jaws for Selby. There's still 75 on here, so we're not done yet.

O'Sullivan 2-7 Selby (35-0)

O'Sullivan's in now though, as Selby misses a long red to the bottom left. That leaves O'Sullivan a red to the right middle, and he's away. On 23 he plays a controlled cut on the black to send the white into the pack and leave him on a red to the bottom right. He looks focused and up for the challenge here, enormous as it is.

O'Sullivan 2-7 Selby (12-0)

It's four to O'Sullivan as Selby goes in-off in the green pocket after tagging the pack with a two cushion escape. Selby's next shot goes even worse; a double kiss when trying to play a containing safety leaves O'Sullivan an easy starter. That should be the cue for Ronnie to make hay, but a disastrous positional shot off the black leaves him touching on a red and with no pot on. It's all going Selby's way so far.

O'Sullivan 2-7 Selby

Selby gets back in to mop up the last four reds and all the colours for a 51 to go with his 78 earlier in the frame. He's scored all the points and kept O'Sullivan off the table; the perfect start for him.

O'Sullivan 2-6 Selby (0-78)

We're less than ten minutes into this session and Ronnie's mountain just gets steeper as Selby sails past the winning line. He runs out of position off the eleventh red, and tucks O'Sullivan in behind the brown. That's end of break on 78, and there's only 59 left on the table. O'Sullivan will justifiably play on, as he's completely cold on this table right now.

O'Sullivan 2-6 Selby (0-53)

A pink takes Selby to a half-century already, and there's plenty more on yet. He's not even having to work the white that much, and three more reds will leave Ronnie needing a snooker.

O'Sullivan 2-6 Selby (0-24)

O'Sullivan gets a good look at a long red over the bottom left, but misses it and runs the white into the pack. That could cost him a lot of points, because he's left Selby plum on an easy starter. The black is on to both corners; can Selby stamp his authority on the evening session here?

Everybody wants to be a DJ, everybody wants to be an MC

Phil Seymour is the latter, and he announces Selby and O’Sullivan into the arena. Three is the magic number and overseeing the denouement between these two will be referee Leo Scullion. It's 6-2 to Selby then, here we go with the final session of the 2020 Scottish Open.

The edge

If he was watching up in Cheshire, Sir Alex Ferguson would surely have been beaming at the mind games between these two today. Ronnie would love it if they’d have worked, but Selby’s iron will wouldn’t have any of it. They say the game is played in mini-sessions, so if O’Sullivan is to have any chance of turning this around then 3-1 before the interval tonight is surely the minimum required.

Good evening!

Once more, with feeling. Welcome back to live coverage of the Scottish Open Final, we’ll be with you throughout this evening session until we have a winner. At the moment that’s looking like Mark Selby, after he stormed into a 6-2 lead earlier today. Don’t count out O’Sullivan though; he’s had an up and down week, but he did rattle off five frames in a row to beat Li Hang in his semi-final yesterday.

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Join us again at 6.45pm

That concludes our live coverage for this afternoon. Join us again in a couple of hours for the conclusion of this absorbing Scottish Open final. Thanks for your company, see you in a bit.

Mark Selby leads Ronnie O'Sullivan 6-2

At the moment, this Scottish Open final is only going one way. Even though he hasn't located the A game that blew away Jamie Jones last night, Mark Selby has utterly dominated Ronnie O'Sullivan this afternoon. One of Ronnie's two frames required a worldie clearance to get it over the line, but outside of that his play has been erratic. He's battled through that all week to reach this final, but you can't get away with it against Selby. The edge between these two is obvious, and The Jester will be relishing this evening's session and the chance to secure an emphatic victory over O'Sullivan in what is their first meeting since that epic semi-final at The Crucible in August. O'Sullivan will need to produce something exceptional tonight to turn this one around.

O'Sullivan 2-6 Selby

O'Sullivan dropped his head to the table when he missed that red; he knows what's coming now, and Selby calmly empties the table to win the frame. That's a huge few minutes in the context of this final.

O'Sullivan 2-5 Selby (37-59)

Oh my, what drama; O'Sullivan takes the second to last red along the rail and into the bottom right, a superb shot that should lead to him clearing up. He then plays a horrible shot on the final red however, jarring it out of the pocket from a just off-straight angle, and he's left it over the green pocket for Selby!

O'Sullivan 2-5 Selby (0-59)

What's happened here? A thick safety from Selby leaves Ronnie a straight, mid-range red to the bottom right. Before he takes his shot O'Sullivan has a word with referee Leo Scullion, who in turn has a word with Selby. It seems to be over Selby moving his glass of water as Ronnie prepared to take his shot, shades of that spat with Mark Allen a few months ago. O'Sullivan then gets down to play the red and misses. Blimey. Selby should clear up, but only adds 14 before missing a red to the bottom right with the rest. There's 75 left on here, so it's a chance for O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan 2-5 Selby (0-45)

Well, well, a plot twist. With his mind on getting an angle on the black to go into the pack, Selby misses a red to the left middle. It's 45 only and he's not left anything for O'Sullivan. If he does get out of here 6-2 in front, Selby will still deliver himself a stern lecture before the evening session, as he's carelessly let slip some really good opportunities so far today.

O'Sullivan 2-5 Selby (0-21)

Now then, can Mark take a huge advantage into the evening session? O'Sullivan misses a long red to the bottom left at the beginning of the eighth, and Selby steps in to clip a red into the right middle in response. This is a good chance; it'll either be a four frame lead or a two frame lead for Selby at 7pm, and he's currently the one who will determine which.

O'Sullivan 2-5 Selby

It's a three frame lead for Selby, as he empties the table for a 77.

O'Sullivan 2-4 Selby (0-62)

It's another go for Selby as Ronnie goes in-off. Selby picks out a long red to the bottom right, and he's in good position now to establish a commanding lead in this match. A quick 24 and counting does just that, and O'Sullivan now needs snookers.

O'Sullivan 2-4 Selby (0-38)

Only 28 for Selby as he loses the white again, and misses a long red to the bottom left. He played it with safety in mind, but he'll still be frustrated at failing to develop two decent chances in this frame. He then pots a cushion-first red in the bottom right, but can't land on the black and has to play safe again.

O'Sullivan 2-4 Selby (0-24)

Two big frames coming up, and Selby takes early charge of the seventh by clipping in a lovely thin red to the right middle to come back down the table off the top cushion and land on the black. He should be off and running, but on nine he misses a black off its spot and he's left Ronnie a straight, mid-range red to the bottom right. O'Sullivan can't convert it though; that's a huge miss, and Mark can fill his boots here.

O'Sullivan 2-4 Selby

Selby finally tags in the final red, followed by the blue and all the colours. He's now guaranteed to go into the evening session level at the very least.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Selby (17-64)

What a touch for O'Sullivan! He snicks in a thin red to the bottom right, catches the knuckle of the left middle and lands on the black with an angle to open the remaining reds! He duly does, but he's only on an awkward red to the left middle and he misses it. That's left Selby in to mop up what's left, and a quick 14 and counting leaves Ronnie needing snookers. We're not done though, as Selby leaves one of the final two reds in the jaws of the bottom right. Oh, Mark! On we go, but O'Sullivan manages to snooker himself behind the final red on all the colours. He rolls up to the brown, but he'll need three snookers now to tie.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Selby (8-50)

Selby misses a thin cut on a red to bottom left, and he's stuck it up over that pocket for O'Sullivan. There's 75 left on here; surely he can't mop up from an unlikely position again? Not this time, as he adds a red and black but can't shift one of the remaining five reds into an inviting position.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Selby (0-50)

Yet another blue takes Selby to his half-century, off which he tries to develop the remaining reds, pink and black, but it's gone awry and he's not on the next red. It's been a great effort to rack that up, as the cue ball had to do so much travel to get him in position. Selby plays safe, with a healthy lead in the bank.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Selby (0-20)

O'Sullivan misses a difficult plant to the bottom left at the start of the fifth, after which Selby bullets a straight red into the same pocket to land on the pink. There's not much on here though, with blue pink and black currently tied up, although he relocates the blue to its home quickly. It's 20 and counting, but it's hard work.

O'Sullivan 2-3 Selby

It's a long stretch to pot the yellow but O'Sullivan makes it, followed by the green with the rest. This is a big frame, you can feel it. Blue to pink is the only shot anything more than routine, but he makes it look easy and dishes up everything to pinch the frame with a brilliant 58! That could prove to be a huge steal.

O'Sullivan 1-3 Selby (49-62)

O'Sullivan replies with 14 but can't develop any of the four remaining reds, and has to play safe. He's soon back in though, as Selby leaves him a red to the left middle. Ronnie pots it, and then the black to bring it back down the table, and now this might get interesting. O'Sullivan picks off the remaining reds with blacks; can he complete a sensational steal on the colours?

O'Sullivan 1-3 Selby (4-62)

It's a difficult knock, as the prolonged bout of safety at the start of the frame has left seven reds below the black spot and near the bottom cushion. Selby rings in a half-century with the pink, but he'll need something special to develop some of those reds and sort this frame in one hit. The break ends on 62 as he misses a double on a red to the left middle; there's still 75 left on the table.

O'Sullivan 1-3 Selby (4-15)

We're back underway, and O'Sullivan draws four points from Selby, forcing a miss after trapping him behind the knuckle on the jaws of the yellow pocket. It's Selby that gets the first scoring opportunity though; he's only got the pink to work with for now as the black is in baulk, but there are a load of reds on around it.

O’Sullivan 1-3 Selby

Eventually it’s over, as Selby mops up the yellow and then in a separate visit the green, brown and blue. Ronnie plays on still with pink and black left on and from 41 points behind, causing Dave Hendon to quip in commentary: ‘It seems in 2020, not conceding when you’ve lost is in fashion.’ Right on. Even when Selby pots the pink and then bounces the black up the table, O’Sullivan makes to play on until referee Leo Scullion intervenes.

Junior school stuff, but it’s Selby that takes a 3-1 lead into the interval. See you in 15.

O’Sullivan 1-2 Selby (25-62)

A 37 from Selby leaves O'Sullivan needing three snookers as he returns to the table. Ronnie picks off the final red and a black, before setting about trying to get the points he requires off the final six balls.

O’Sullivan 1-2 Selby (17-54)

Selby crushes a long red into the bottom left, followed by a yellow to the right middle that brings him back down to the remaining reds. He should put this frame away from here.

O’Sullivan 0-0 Selby (17-35)

Selby’s missed a black off its spot, another routine miss from him today, and there’s a chance for O’Sullivan now. He goes all around the houses off the black, fortuitously landing on his nex red after missing the blue, but he then rattles said red in and out of the bottom left. It’s an edgy frame, this.

O’Sullivan 1-2 Selby (9-27)

Now it’s Selby who gets a chance but can only add 21 before his own attempt to develop the pack goes askew and he lands on nothing. Ronnie quickly lets him back on though, and a quick red to the bottom left gives Selby another chance.

O’Sullivan 1-2 Selby (9-0)

It’s a chance for Ronnie at the beginning of the fourth, and he strokes a nice red into to bottom right to come across for the black. His attempt to split the pack doesn’t go to plan though, catching a red half ball and losing the white, and he soon has to play safe to baulk.

O’Sullivan 1-2 Selby

A ton it is! Selby replicates his awesome form from last night's semi-final with Jamie Jones, with a 102 restoring his lead in the match.

O’Sullivan 1-1 Selby (4-73)

A quick 38 from Selby leaves Ronnie needing a snooker. It's all on here for Selby to clear, and there's possibly a ton on if he can stick to high value colours.

O’Sullivan 1-1 Selby (4-35)

It's gone wrong on 35 for Selby as he runs out of position on his next red, and in playing safe to baulk he guides the white straight into the green pocket. Safety follows, but O'Sullivan misses a good chance at a mid-range red to the bottom left and he's left Selby on one in the bottom half of the table.

O’Sullivan 1-1 Selby (0-21)

Selby fires straight back at the start of the third, hosing in a long red and then rattling the brown into left middle, screwing the white off two cushions in baulk to land on his next red. That's a great shot, and he can now turn this into a scoring chance.

O’Sullivan 1-1 Selby

O'Sullivan rattles in a quick 72, and he's level.

O’Sullivan 0-1 Selby (53-5)

A blue takes O'Sullivan to a half-century, compiled in bare minutes. This has been effortless, and a one hit frame looks inevitable now.

O’Sullivan 0-1 Selby (16-5)

Ronnie clips in the first red of the second frame, but goes in-off in the yellow pocket. That's left Selby with his hand on the table, white in the D and with a straight red to the bottom left. That goes and he's plum on the black, but he misses it badly and Ronnie's in. Selby's missed a couple of routine ones so far; interesting times in Milton Keynes.

O’Sullivan 0-1 Selby

On it goes; it's just that O'Sullivan is potting balls to get his arm going, he's also playing for snookers even though he needs at least ten of them. Selby's not having a bar of it, tapping the table after one of Ronnie's efforts and also laying a few of his own. He won't be psychologically intimidated here; eventually the remaining balls go and he's won the first frame.

O’Sullivan 0-0 Selby (1-82)

Selby takes the first frame with a break of 56. O'Sullivan will play on; it's frame one, so this isn't unusual, but it'll be interesting to see if this is a tactic he'll employ all day as he has at earlier tournaments. This plus the smash and bash out of that snooker earlier has added another layer of intrigue onto this fascinating final.

O’Sullivan 0-0 Selby (1-58)

Now, this is interesting. Selby traps O'Sullivan behind the yellow, snookered on all reds and with one right over the bottom left. Ronnie initially tries to land softly on it but misses, and when Selby puts him back in he locates the spirit of the end of the semi in Sheffield and thrashes the cue ball off one cushion at the reds. He misses the one over the pocket and crashes into another; four to Selby, who is now right in the balls and with a chance to win the frame.

O’Sullivan 0-0 Selby (1-21)

Selby’s off to a flier here; he strokes in a long red to the bottom right, and then thin cuts the black to the bottom left, opening the bunch as he does so. That’s an aggressive shot, and he banks points quickly, but then surprisingly misses a mid-range red to the bottom right. O'Sullivan can only plug one red in response before having to play safe.

Over to MC Phil Seymour

He's baizing the boys, and we're all good to go here.

Ali-Frazier, the Baize edition

Just as styles make fights in boxing, so they make for enthralling rivalries in snooker. O'Sullivan versus Selby is one for the ages. The greatest player of any generation versus the most dominant force from the one that followed his; snooker's Mozart against a one of the most formidable match players that the game has ever seen. They've faced each other down in some epic finals in the past, and here we are again at that stage of the Scottish Open. It's best of 17 for the Stephen Hendry trophy; this is on!

Mark

There are a number of motivations for Selby today beyond the seventy large and the trophy. He’s also the defending Scottish Open champion, having beaten Jack Lisowski 9-6 in Glasgow, and then there’s revenge; Ronnie stunned Selby to win 17-16 at The Crucible in August, after Selby had led 16-14 and his opponent looked gone. Selby thought O’Sullivan played some disrespectful shots, and there’s always been an edge between these two given how each player approaches this game. This is the first meeting between the two since that dramatic night in Sheffield.

Ronald

It’s been quite a week for the world champion. He’s been having cue tip troubles throughout the tournament and has been through four so far on his way to the final. O’Sullivan seems to have found one he likes now though and worked it in during his semi-final against Li Hang yesterday. Could he kick it? Yes, he could; from 4-1 he rattled off five frames on the spin to reach today’s final. He's chasing a 38th ranking event title today.

Good afternoon!

Welcome to live coverage of the Scottish Open final, from it’s temporary base at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes. What a clash we’ve got in store today – it’s Ronnie O’Sullivan versus Mark Selby for the title, in their first meeting since that jaw-dropping semi-final at the World Championship in August. Don’t sit there acting like you’ve got anything better to do today; brew up and settle in for what promises to be a cracker.

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Today's action

Join us from 12.45pm for the first session of the Scottish Open final. This should be a belter.

SCOTTISH OPEN FINAL SCHEDULE

Afternoon (1pm)

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby

Evening (7pm)

Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby

Watch the Scottish Open final live on Eurosport, eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app

Recap: Selby wins through to the final

Jamie Jones was powerless to do anything about his defeat tonight; Mark Selby was simply brilliant. Three centuries and a 93 underpinned Selby's dominance and he was utterly ruthless when he got in the balls. Jones avoided being whitewashed, and can at least take comfort in reaching the last four of a ranking event as he wasn't even on the tour a year ago. Selby marches on to the final, and what a prospect it is. O'Sullivan, the world champion and greatest of all time, against Selby, the form horse after an excellent week and a man who has won his last ten ranking event finals in a row. The undercurrent? A residual tension from their epic World Championship semi-final in August.

Recap: O'Sullivan battles into Sunday's showpiece

Ronnie O'Sullivan fought back from 4-1 down to beat Li Hang 6-4 and secure his place in Sunday's Scottish Open final at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes.

Li produced some excellent, attacking snooker to craft a three-frame advantage but ran out of steam against the Rocket, who staged a remarkable comeback - on the back of runs of 84, 87, 93 and 59 - to progress to his 55th ranking event final. However, the 37-time ranking event winner felt his performance left a lot to be desired, telling Andy Goldstein in the Eurosport studio that he should never have won the match.

I’ll take a win all day long. I should never have won it. The cue action was not great today I was struggling. I couldn’t get any penetration through the ball.

“I was really trying to get any grip and I was losing the white quite a bit and I had to stay patient," added O'Sullivan.

O’Sullivan: I should never have won it

What is the format?

All matches are the best of seven frames until the quarter final, when they become best of nine. The semi-finals are best of 11 and the final is best of 17.