Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Kyren Wilson to lift sixth World Championship trophy

Photo: Twitter/@WeAreWST

Sheffield: Ronnie O’Sullivan on Sunday (August 16, 2020) lifted his sixth World Championship trophy by beating Kyren Wilson 18-8 in the 2020 Betfred World Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield (England).

The 44-year old O’Sullivan ended the opening day of the final at 10-7 and took eight of the next nine frames on the final day. 

Seven of the last eight frames saw O'Sullivan making breaks of 50 or more. Out of the 79 centuries scored in the tournament, O'Sullivan hit the most (12). 

The Rocket has now equalled the record of Steve Davis and Ray Reardon as the six times World Champion.

O’Sullivan has now won 20 Triple Crown events and has record 37 ranking titles.

The £500,000 winner’s cheque took the English player from sixth to second in the world rankings, now only behind 2019 World Champion Judd Trump.

"I was happy to get one world title at one stage. Once I got to four I knew I could call myself one of the greats, because that’s how many times John Higgins had won it. Anything above that and you are in fantastic company," World Snooker Tour quoted O’Sullivan saying after the match. 

He added, "One thing I have got is longevity. I go in and out of form and my mind can wander sometimes. Then I get a bit of a taste for it again and want to see if I’ve still got it, so I try to have a go at it as I have done in this tournament. When you practise for five or six hours a day it’s because you want to know whether you are hitting it straight enough to stand up under pressure."

Talking about his 28-year old opponent, O'Sullivan expressed, "Kyren is a top player and is improving all the time. He has got desire, the hunger and the belief in his ability. His fire is burning bright enough and he will get there in the end. He will win this tournament one day – not to put too much pressure on him. He is a country mile above everyone else his age and he always wants to raise his own bar."

Wilson who is sixth on the world rankings said, "I’m not going to beat myself up to much. It was a dream come true to play Ronnie in the final. I really struggled in the first session yesterday. We both had a bit of a hangover from the semi-finals. I’m a fighter. I tried to just relax, let the shackles off and go for it."

He opined that the night belonged to Ronnie adding that he was amazing in the final. 

"He has shown his class when he wasn’t quite at his best. He was awesome in the third session. I’m very lucky to have what I have, to be 28 and playing the sport that I love. It has given me an amazing life. To perform in an arena like this is an honour and I’m glad that a crowd was allowed in for the final," said Wilson.