Ronnie O’Sullivan beats Judd Trump to claim record-equalling seventh Crucible title

Ronnie O'Sullivan claimed his seventh World Championship title with a victory over Judd Trump in a thrilling final.

O’Sullivan had seen a seven-frame overnight lead reduced to just three by Trump in the afternoon session, before recovering when play resumed in the evening to polish off an 18-13 win.

The 'Rocket' took four of the evening's first six frames, enjoying runs of 82, 88, 75, and 85.

With his victory, the 46-year-old has matched Stephen Hendry’s modern day record, picked up a £500,000 winner’s cheque, and surpassed Ray Reardon to become the oldest world champion in history.

He has now won 39 ranking titles, holding almost every major record in the game.

John Parrott, the 1991 champion, compared O’Sullivan to Tiger Woods, while Steve Davis, who won the title six times, described him as a “genius”.

“I’ve never bothered about records," O’Sullivan told the BBC.

"I’ve never performed well if I’m going for stuff like that, I just try to enjoy the game, compete, enjoy being on the circuit, try to enjoy what I do and work hard at my game and then you just let the snooker gods decide what they are going to decide. This 17 days they were on my side. “As far as I’m concerned, this fella (Trump) is already an all-time great."

Trump said: “Massive congratulations to Ronnie. He’s been a pleasure to share the table with. “He’s always been so good to me throughout my career, letting me practice with him when I was young, and try to learn things off him. “An amazing achievement and he will go down as the best player of all time."