World Grand Prix Final as it happened - Ronnie O'Sullivan battles back to beat Neil Robertson 10-8 to lift trophy

Congratulations to Ronnie O'Sullivan, and commiserations to Neil Robertson. It was an absorbing final, a real slow burner that finished with something trul special.

That's all from us for live snooker for 2021, enjoy your Christmas and New Year out there folks.

The one and only. And, in Coventry, a message to you, Judd T? 'Look at Ronnie, he can’t win an event to save his life at the moment,' Judd Trump said last month at the Champion of Champions. 'Even the so-called smaller events have all the top players still in them. I just think he’s lost a little bit of the belief. When you don’t win you don’t have the belief and people aren’t scared to beat you.' Well, that's how champions respond; Ronnie O'Sullivan has beaten one of the very best players in the game to claim the final ranking event title of 2021. And I'll tell you what; it's shaping up to be some Masters at Ally Pally in a few weeks.

What a day. This afternoon, and for the first half of tonight it looked like it would be Neil Robertson's final. He led 2-0, 4-2 and 7-5, but Ronnie, even though he wasn't playing well earlier in the day, hung in there and never dropped his head. He's been hypercritical of his performances this week, so I hope he's happy with what he produced after the interval. Ronnie was sensational when the players returned, rattling off four in a row in barely 40 minutes and then holding his nerve to convert a match-winning clearance to win the title. Key to the whole victory however was frame eight, which O'Sullivan pulled out of the fire despite needing two snookers to enter the evening session level. That was his platform, and he performed on it like we know he can. What a player; the Greatest extends his record to 38 world ranking event title wins.

A 77 - his third in the last hour or so - does the necessary. Ronnie O'Sullivan has won the 2021 World Grand Prix!

Champions; you know how they do. Ronnie sinks frame ball red, and the black to make sure. What a performance it's been this evening!

Ronnie stuns in the pink and opens an adjacent bunch of reds as he does so. It's all on for him now. If he can hold it together for another five or six shots, he'll win his first title for 16 months.

It's another chance for Neil in frame eighteen, as Ronnie pokes a red out near the bottom left from a safety and doesn't cover it. Neil snicks it in, and he gets a nice kiss on the blue to land on it. Just as it looks like another big visit might be incoming however, he miscues when trying to pot the black and misses the pot by a mile. He groans in frustration; what a juncture for that to happen. That leaves Ronnie a red to the bottom left. It's thin, but he makes it and he's on the green. He quickly transfers his break to the area around the black spot, respotting the black itself, and this is a chance.

A break of 78 pegs one back for Neil; he needs two, Ronnie needs one.

This is a show of moxie from Neil, who's playing under some pressure here. He picks off the loose reds with colours, inclusive of a difficult red along the rail and into the bottom left. He puts up a half-century by potting hte black, off which he splits a cluster of four reds to leave the frame at his mercy.

Neil looked like he was moving towards the title less than an hour ago, now he needs three in a row to do it. This'll help, whether he meant it or not; a three-ball plant goes into the bottom right, and he's on the green. Neil's not averse to rattling off a load of one-hit frames himself, but this break goes the way of the pear early as he can't force position on a colour and it ends on five. He's soon back in though with a fearless shot to nothing red and he's on the brown. This is a big visit.

A black takes Ronnie to 70 with 67 left on, and a follow-up red makes sure. Another pink is added before Ronnie misses a red along the rail, nixing his break at 77. Neil comes the table 18 behind, pots a couple and then folds it when he misses a red. Ronnie is just one frame away from the title, and Neil hasn't potted a meaningful ball since the interval. Astonishing.

Geniuses need a challenge. Neil presented Ronnie with one today, and what a response this is. He looks so locked in here. Another half-century is soon in the books, and he's only a few pots away from a fourth frame in quick succession. What a turnaround.

Can Neil respond here? He's been blitzed, losing three frames in under half an hour, and now he has the greater task of the two players. This won't help; a loose safety leaves Ronnie a mid-ranger to the bottom left, and once more it's thwacked into the heart of the pocket. A brilliant stun and run through on the blue then lands him on a red above the black. This is mesmerising stuff. After going into the pack, a recovery blue flies into the centre of the green pocket. Thrilling stuff from The Rocket.

This is wonderful, rhythmic stuff from Ronnie now. He breezes by the winning line with a break of 77, and takes the lead in the match for the first time today.

For Ronnie fans, these are good signs. He's moving nicely around the table, cueing smoothly and making this break look effortless. A black takes him to a half-century and he frees up another two reds as he does so; it's hard to believe that this is the same player that struggled for parity in the afternoon session.

A cautious safety exchange opens frame fifteen, before Ronnie bullets a red across the table and into the heart of the bottom left from distance. Yowser, that's some shot. The brown follows, and he's soon into the pack by stunning a red in left-handled and opening the pack in the same sweet movement. The white almost goes in-off, but it's running for him at the moment; you sense Ronnie is really gathering momentum here.

Best of five anyone? Ronnie lands a snooker behind the yellow, and in his attempted escape Neil catches the pink and immediately concedes. It's been a slow burner, but my oh my we've got a finish in store here.

A quick 28 from Ronnie gives him a handsome lead and Neil requires two snookers. There's a glimmer of a chance for Neil, now back at the table, as he's quickly in and mopping up reds and blacks. He takes four of each, and he'll go for his snookers on this final red. Ronnie will be annoyed he didn't see that home, and while it's a big ask for Neil, the real benefit here could be knocking Ronnie out of rhythm for a time.

Ronnie is forced to go up for blue - boo, sir, boo! - and after potting it he gets a good split on the pack but loses the white to the bottom rail. Safety ensues, but Ronnie's confidence looks right up here and he drains a brilliant shot to nothing red and he's on the blue. He's back around the black spot soon enough, and in prime position to take advantage of his pack split a few shots ago.

What a touch for Ronnie! He takes on a red long to the bottom left which jaws out, hugs the rail and drops conveniently into the bottom right. He's on the black, and he's soon flying; if you fancy getting overexcited early in the bit, it's five reds and five blacks so far.

No ton, but a second break of 90 for Ronnie today keeps both of his hands firmly on Neil's coat tails.

If this Ronnie hangs about, hold on to your trilby. He racks up 73 in a heartbeat to secure the frame, and might well convert this into a ton.

We're back, and this frame feels big. I mean, they all are at this stage, but a three-frame lead for the first time today for Neil could break the back of this final. It's Ronnie who gets in first though, as Neil leaves him a mid-range red to the bottom left which is duly plugged. The table needs a bit of work but he's got the black back on its spot now as he moves to 25. He's only had one half-ton today, what he'd give for one with interest now.

Take that! Robertson clears the table for an 88, and takes a lead into the interval.

Can Ronnie peg him back again, or will Neil run away with it? Join us in 15 minutes to find out.

All the reds are dispatched with colours, as Neil moves on to the colours. He needs just the baulk versions to secure the frame.

Now then, this could be a moment; on 49 Ronnie loses position slightly, and misses a thin cut on a red to the bottom right. It stays in the jaws, and Neil is in. If he can land it, this would be a telling blow to dish here. All colours are on their spots and all remaining reds are in the open. This would be a bruiser, because Ronnie will know they should have been his. Neil reaches 31, potting the black and splitting the last four reds as he does so. This is on.

Has Ronnie got his long game popping? He drains a long red into the bottom left, and follow it up by stroking the yellow long into the bottom right to land on a red above the black. Can he respond with a big visit of his own here? He gets to 35 by potting the black and landing a glancing blow on the pack, which splits them open nicely, so he's got a chance.

Here he is! The Thunder we know and love arrives in the final, playing a brilliant positional shot to bring an awkward red into play and land on the black, on his way to a magnificent total clearance of 128.

There's the half-century with a black to bottom left, and he's comfortably on his next red. His highest break so far today is 72 and I'm fair sure that will be eclipsed here.

A superb safety from Neil after Ronnie's break-off in frame ten forces an error, and Neil returns to the table for an easy starter. The reds are so open here, with blue and black available. His break is at 26 and counting, and if Ronnie comes back at all in this one he's likely to be some way behind.

Nip and tuck, on we go; Ronnie cleans up the colours and we're level once more.

Neil thin snicks in a red to the yellow pocket, but he's not on a colour and opts to bring the green out, meaning he can only tie now. He's in next though, and it's on; red-black-red-black are converted, and he's dropped on the yellow along the top rail. It's a big shot, and Neil tries to drive it...and the yellow spits out of its own pocket and lands on the lip of the right middle.

Ronnie drains a long red to huge cheers; his long game has been way off today. It's three reds and blacks in this break, before he fails to shift a group of three near the right rail and has to play safe. Ronnie has a huge advantage here, and if he can get the nnext red down it's frame ball.

Ronnie's in, picking out a plant to the bottom left, and works his way back down the table from baulk. He makes 36, but misses a difficult pink to the right middle after losing position after making a plant on two reds. Neil pots red-black in response, but then misses a thin cut on a red to the bottom left. It's an awkward table with 75 left on it, and Neil's just handed the initiative by going in-off in the bottom left.

Neil's off first in frame ten, draining a long red and then picking up four when Ronnie needs two bites at escaping from a snooker. He gets red-pink away soon after before missing what looks another straightforward red, but he's not left anything. Neither player has settled into this evening session as yet.

Neil makes 59, and although he needs just one snooker Ronnie doesn't like the look of the table, so turns it in.

What a couple of shots here from Neil. Firstly he doubles a red into the right middle and lands on the black; secondly, he drills the black in and splits the reds very invitingly thereafter. There's a load on as a result, and he racks them up very quickly indeed. It's a half-century in no time, and he's zoning in on the frame.

The first chance of frame nine falls to Ronnie, as Neil tries to land on the pack off two cushions and misses it completely. That's four away, but Ronnie can't convert the blue after picking off the first red of the night and Neil gets a chance. Both players haven't settled though, as Neil can only pot a red and pink before missing a simple red to the bottom left. Nervy stuff so far.

The boys are baized courtesy of our MC Rob Walker, let's get about it. First to ten for the World Grand Prix title.

I'd still have Neil as a slight favourite here, as it's beyond me how Ronnie got out of this afternoon at 4-4. Robertson has been in better form, both today and through the week. That said, Ronnie is far, far better at hanging in than is generally perceived, and with the ability to find moments of genius when required, such as the escapology of frame eight, he will be intent on taking this argument as far as it needs to go.

Here we go then with the final session of snooker for 2021. Ronnie O'Sullivan needs six frames to win the World Grand Prix title, and so does Neil Robertson. Nicely poised then, let's get at it.

We shall return for the denouement at 6.45pm.

Well, you tell me. Ronnie O'Sullivan could quite easily have been whitewashed in that session this afternoon, as Neil Robertson had enough chances to win every frame. Ronnie's turned tonight's session into a best of eleven, and this final is still wide open. He somehow blagged four frames there, the last of which owed everything to his immense natural ability to lay snookers and was won despite being 41 behind with 35 left on. Outrageous, but that's genius for you. And don't have anyone, let alone Ronnie, tell you that winning finals isn't important to him. He's fighting tooth and nail for this one. On form and the general run of play Neil has been the better player, and you'd still fancy him. If Ronnie can have a cream tea and find something close to his A game ahead of tonight though, we could be in for some finish.

Ladies and gentlemen, Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan. Unbelievable.

His break-building may not be quite on point today, but Ronnie's safety game, my word. He lays two brilliant snookers; Neil escapes from the first, but the second is utterly fiendish and due to the proximity of the red to the pink, when Neil misses it he leaves a free ball. Ronnie pots the black for a point, then the blue. The final red and a blue follow, and he needs to dish the colours for a sensational steal.

Frame ball red, dispatched with the full set of cue extensions to the yellow pocket, is soon followed by the yellow. The break ends there on 47, so Ronnie needs two snookers to win with 35 left out there. He picks up one off a brilliant snooker behind the black that Neil can't escape from, and on we go.

Neil grabs the mantle, picking out a glorious plant to the bottom left from distance and following it up with a yellow to right middle. He's soon down to the area around the black spot, where there's a load in the open. Quite rightly, he's taking his time over this. He reaches 28 but he's left himself a tough blue to the left middle to keep it going. The blue drops, and Neil's nicely on his next red. Almost there.

We could be in for a jumpy one here, as Ronnie misjudges a cannon on a red beneath the black and it's end of break on 20. Safety ensues, and there's a visit of some importance in the post for whoever gets in next.

The first chance in this crucial eighth frame falls to Neil, as Ronnie fails to cover a red that's squirted out over the bottom left. He makes 19, but then inadvertently pots the yellow after trying to go around the angles off the blue. He's left a free ball too, and Ronnie calmly drops the green into the right middle to get going.

A 90 for Ronnie, his highest break of the day by far, reduces his deficit to just one frame. It'll be quite something if he gets out of this all square.

A surprise miss from Neil, jawing a red out of the green pocket, hands the keys to the frame back to Ronnie. A swift 42 puts the frame beyond Neil, and we've got a big final frame of the afternoon incoming.

Ronnie breaks off in the seventh, and leaves Neil a tempter to the bottom left. It goes close but jaws out, rebounding across the table before sitting up over the bottom left for Ronnie. He puts together 25, but misses a red horribly with the rest while sending the white into the pack, and he's left Neil a huge chance here.

A thin cut on a red to the bottom left followed by the black puts the frame beyond Ronnie. In all, a further 36 from Neil banks another frame and he leads by two again.

Neil will be apoplectic with himself here, as a loose pot on the black means he's out of position on his next red and it's end of break. It's not costly though, as a misjudged safety from O'Sullivan leaves a red over the left middle and the frame at Neil's mercy.

A poor safety from O'Sullivan, catching the blue on his way back up to the table, leaves Neil on a simple red to the bottom right. He's going pedal to the metal here, with five reds and blacks so far, off the last of which he drives the white into the pack to affect a lovely split on the reds. This is now a frame-winning chance, but there'll be no maxi as his next red will take him up to baulk.

A swift 16 from Neil restores his lead.

Neil picks off a solitary red, and if he can get the next one too that'll be frame ball. Here comes Ronnie though, drilling a stray red into the bottom left and freeing up two reds and the black from the bottom cushion! That's some shot, but just as it looks like a miracle dish might be on he misses a simple red to the bottom left after the pink. He's not left it, but that'll be deflating. It certainly will be now, as Ronnie gets a double kiss on a red from a safety and serves up the frame to Neil.

Neil gets a couple of reds down. Off the latter, he gets on the pink and finally it's a chance to register something meaningful. A barrage of reds and pinks takes his break to 42 before going up for a stray red near the blue. There are five reds near the bottom cushion, along with the black, and they'll need some shifting. Neil adds a further red and a blue but can't shift another red into play, and it's end of break.

We're back, and it's a bitty start to the fifth as Ronnie gives away four after missing a thin contact on a red and then gets a long red down but can't land on a colour. Neil gets one down of his own, but it's a high quality, drawn out safety exchange to start the frame. Neil soon goes in-off, but this table is a mess and we could be bogged down a while.

We'll call that mini-session a result and then some for Ronnie. He dishes to the pink to send us to the interval all square, when he could quite easily be four down. Neil won't be too chuffed with that; Ronnie will be, but will know he needs to up it to really stay in this.

See you in 15 folks.

Ronnie gets four as Neil misses the yellow when trying to escape a snooker. A poor safety from Ronnie soon after though allows Neil to thin snick the yellow into the green pocket, and he's on green to right middle. It's a big shot, and he misses it and leaves it on for Ronnie, who needs just green and brown to secure the frame...

This could be another crucial swing; with his break on 48 Ronnie misses what looks a simple red to the right middle. He's left it over the opposite pocket too, and Robertson can land a blow of his own by dishing here. He gets on the final red, at an acute angle with tough bridging over the yellow...and he's missed it! Ronnie has the frame at his mercy, but after red-pink he misses a simple yellow! This is really on edge, and these are a huge 27 points now.

After a long safety exchange Robertson misses a long red to the bottom left. In response, Ronnie deftly cuts a red into the left middle to hold for the black. This is a chance, more so when Ronnie again goes aggressively into the remaining cluster to open everything up. He takes the lead in the frame, and there are enough reds in the open for him here to win this in one visit.

More woes from distance for Ronnie at the start of the fourth, as he misses a red to the bottom left and leaves Neil a straight one to the right middle. He's flying again, with 30 soon rattled up, but after potting the black he tries to open the pack and sticks to it, leaving him on nothing. He tries to nudge onto another red when playing safe, and immediately calls a push shot on himself.

Ronnie rides his luck with position on the blue, but rolls it gently into the yellow pocket followed by the pink soon after to win the frame. It's early, but that could prove significant when we look back on the story of this final.

A swift 46 from Robertson puts him in the lead in the frame, but he can't land nicely on the final awkward red and plays safe off it instead. A safety battle ensues, in which Ronnie eventually leaves the red on to the green pocket. Neil can't drill it in though, and Ronnie steps in to pick it off. The yellow follows, and he'll need up to the pink to nick this frame.

A loose positional shot from Ronnie forces him to take a long green to keep this break going, and he can't make it. That's end of break on 39, though incredibly he hasn't left anything. Robertson's safety is poor, leaving Ronnie a thin cut on a red to the bottom left. Ronnie lines it up...and misses not just the pot, but the red ball completely. Crikey. Neil is in this time, and should get right back into this. A stray red on the upper right rail is the only ball in the way of a clearance here.

Great stuff here from Ronnie, as he tags in a shot to nothing off the bottom of the pack and then follows it up with a thin cut on a yellow to the green pocket. He's quickly into the pack too, aggressively and fearlessly on two separate occasions, and it's worked out ok.

A swift 13 from Neil retrieves frame two and extends his lead.

There's 75 left on here, and Ronnie mops up five reds and four blacks before missing the black trying to play up for the final red in baulk. That's a huge miss even this early, because the dish was on then. Instead, Robertson is going to step in and end it.

It's a half-century in a heartbeat, and if Neil can nudge apart a cluster of three reds to the left of the pink then this frame will be a cakewalk. He plays the cannon but misses it, however fortune smiles as he lands straight on a stray red to the left middle. That makes the black frame ball...and oh, my, he's missed the pot and opened the reds up! A chance here for Ronnie.

There's a few worrying signs for Ronnie already here as he misses another long red at the start of frame two, and he's left a mid-ranger across the table. Neil strokes it in, and he's buzzing around the black spot with four reds and blacks on the board already. There's a decent split of reds after one such pot, and he looks very confident out there.

A 72 in total from Robertson moves him ahead in this final.

A superb shot from Neil, draining a long red from the D to hold for frame ball black, breaks the back of this frame. Another two reds are shifted off the left rail after potting the black and this is an imperious start.

There's been some good shots in this break, as Neil brings another red into play with a black that takes him to a round half-century. There's a bit more to do here to secure the frame as the five other remaining reds are a bit awkward, but he's in a good rhythm here and that cue action that Ronnie so admires looks very smooth indeed.

Ronnie prods the first red of the day into the left middle, but can't land on a baulk colour. He has another go at a red a few shots later but can't convert it into the bottom left, which leaves Neil on a red to left middle. It goes, but Neil then overcuts the black and leaves it in the jaws of the bottom right. Ronnie can't follow up with a red to bottom left though; it's an edgy start. Neil's got a grip on it now though, draining a long red to the green pocket followed by the easy black.

Ronnie and Neil are out there, and here we go. It's best of 19 in this final, with eight frames to play this afternoon.

O'Sullivan leads the head-to-head with 14 wins to nine overall. This will be the seventh time these two have met in a final, with three wins apiece in the bank. Their most recent meeting was in the 2021 Tour Championship final, where Robertson dished out a 10-4 hiding. There's a significant moment of history in matches between the two as well; when O'Sullivan beat Robertson 10-4 in the final of the Players Championship in 2019, his 134 that rounded it out was the 1000th century of his career.

Welcome to live coverage of the final of the World Grand Prix from Coventry. Stop your messin’ around, grab a brew and get comfy, because the final match of snooker’s 2021 calendar year is set to be a belter. It’s Ronnie O’Sullivan against Neil Robertson for the title, 100 large and a big, beaming grin on the kipper heading into Christmas.

They say styles make fights in boxing, and the same is true of snooker; with two players nicknamed The Rocket and The Thunder, we might rightly expect a barrage of one-hit frames today, settled with concussive, heavy breaks and getting in first being paramount. These two have clashed memorably in the past and, when either one has not been on it, a scudding has ensued.

That will be a fear for O’Sullivan today, who by his own admission has left this arena holding his nose from the stench of some sub-par performances this week. Robertson has had his trials too though, needing a decider to overcome Yan Bingtao in the quarters before battling past Mark Selby to reach today’s final.

So, what will we get today? Usually with these two, one brings it out of the other or one sticks it on the other. Either way, it should be engrossing. Let’s have it!

Neil Robertson v Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O’Sullivan has apologised for an ‘embarrassing’ performance in his win over Stuart Bingham, and said he will need to find something or will be ‘blasted’ off the table by Neil Robertson in the final of the World Grand Prix.

The world number three has advanced to the final in Coventry despite being well below his best this week.

There were positive signs in his win over Jimmy Robertson in the quarter finals, but he struggled over the line against Bingham who was also way below his best.

Read full story here.

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