Crowd goes wild as Rocket Ronnie beats Ding in final

CENTURY king Ronnie O’Sullivan put his troubles behind him to down Chinese prodigy Ding Junhui in spectacular fashion in last night’s SAGA Insurance Masters final.

“The Rocket” stormed to an impressive 10-3 victory in front of a bumper crowd at the Wembley Arena, pocketing four centuries on the way to the £130,000 winners’ cheque. And with his convincing triumph, which delighted his army of fans on home turf, the Chigwell potter secured his third Masters title in his seventh final.

Ding, who scooped £62,000 as this year’s runner-up, started the better and deservedly won the opening two frames of this year’s best-of-19 frame showdown. O’Sullivan missed a pot on a black into a middle pocket and Ding took his cue to pocket a 77 break for a 1-0 lead. The talented teenager soon doubled his advantage thanks to an excellent 109 run, the first century of the match. A pot on a long red gave him the chance to get in.

But for the next four frames it was all O’Sullivan. A break of 55 saw the world number three reduce his arrears to 2-1, before Ding ran out of position on the green ball and his opponent swooped to level matters with a cool 99 break. However, the best was yet to come as former world champion O’Sullivan reeled off two superb centuries to forge ahead. A long red from the Rocket was the starting point for a special 128 clearance. And the Chigwell potter’s second century soon followed as he capitalised on a missed pink from Ding into a middle pocket.

O’Sullivan compiled a 101 break for a second successive ton, before a break of 56 gave him the advantage in the penultimate frame of the afternoon session. However, having been in trouble, Ding snookered O’Sullivan, managed to get two fouls on the pink ball and potted a wonderful long pink to make it 4-3. But it was O’Sullivan, with another century (116) — his third of the match — who managed to maintain his advantage going into the concluding evening session.

Ding missed a long red and O’Sullivan coolly slotted home a brilliant 96 to increase his lead to three frames. And that lead soon became four when Ding overcut a red into the top left pocket and the 1995 and 2005 champion pounced to compile a 66 break.

China’s brightest young star looked way off the pace and O’Sullivan was not going to miss out.

Strangley, with the score at 9-3 O’Sullivan put his arm around Ding just before the players walked off for the first interval after Ding offered his hand in resignation.

The players did return after a 20-minute break, but a World Snooker spokesman said that Ding had thought the match was the best-of-17 frames instead of the scheduled 19.

Ding, who has only been a professional for three years, also seemed to have been upset from comments made by some highly vociferous and partizan O’Sullivan supporters.

It made little difference as O’Sullivan, with a break of 74, won the first frame after the interval to secure this year’s coveted title.