Irish Masters: Rocket plays down Crucible chances

Ronnie O’Sullivan refuses to back himself to win his first world title despite last night’s victory over seven times Crucible king Stephen Hendry in the Citywest Irish Masters final.

O’Sullivan’s gripping 9-8 Dublin triumph brought him his fourth title of the season two more than any of his rivals heading for Sheffield.

But the enigmatic Essex star, congratulated after his latest success by fallen idol Alex Higgins, isn’t getting carried away about his world championship chances.

‘‘I know I can be so different from one day to the next so I’m not thinking about Sheffield,’’ said O’Sullivan, who has repeatedly found the 17 days in South Yorkshire too long a marathon.

‘‘I won’t bother about it until I’m actually there. I played good match snooker against Stephen but I wasn’t flying as well as I can do.

‘‘I like to win by forcing the pace, creating openings and putting my opponents under pressure.

‘‘I didn’t do that, I just did a job. It was tough on Stephen but he has won so many more titles than me.

‘‘No one remembers who finishes second and I didn’t want to be on the wrong end of a 9-8 scoreline.’’

O’Sullivan’s victory was his fourth over his former stablemate this season and gives him a 16-14 advantage in their career head-to-heads.

A £75,000 first prize takes his seasonal earnings close to £370,000, £100,000 more than his nearest challenger.

For Hendry, it was his third 9-8 Irish Masters final defeat dating back to his debut in 1989.

‘‘I don’t get any satisfaction from finishing runner-up,’’ said the disgruntled Scot.

‘‘If you don’t win the title it’s just like losing in the first round. I played dreadfully early on and at one stage I thought it was going to be a 9-1 or 9-2.

‘‘When I got in front at 8-7 I just wanted a chance, but I didn’t get it in the 16th frame and the half-chance in the decider didn’t come off.’’

There seemed no way back for Hendry when he trailed 4-0 and 5-1. But two years ago he recovered to beat Stephen Lee 9-8 in the final after being 8-4 adrift so he knew there was a glimmer of hope.

Crucially, he won the last frame of the first session and took four of the next five when the match resumed to level at 6-6.

O’Sullivan’s fifth century of the tournament a 112 restored his advantage but two more successes for Hendry gave him the lead for the first time at 8-7.

O’Sullivan hit back with 80 in frame 16 and he then took the decider 71-13 after Hendry missed a tricky black when 13-0 in front.

Both players now go to Aberdeen for Sunday’s start of the Regal Scottish Open.

O’Sullivan defends the title and will hope to complete another successful campaign to keep his confidence up for the Crucible.