Ronnie O'Sullivan with the UK Championship trophy
Ronnie O'Sullivan with the UK Championship trophy

Ronnie O'Sullivan wins sixth UK Championship title


Ronnie O'Sullivan moved through the gears to beat Shaun Murphy 10-5 in the final of snooker's Betway UK Championship, matching Steve Davis' all-time record of six wins in the event.

Murphy took the first frame of a high-class final and performed wonders to share the spoils in the opening session, having been 2-1 and 4-2 down.

But while he would level once again at 5-5, from there it was all O'Sullivan as the 42-year-old powered away for a 10-5 victory.

O'Sullivan racked up breaks of 75, 104, 76, 103, 86 and 59 in a session where he produced a performance of the highest quality, swiftly and majestically tying up victory and pocketing the £170,000 top prize.

This was O'Sullivan's sixth UK Championship title, 24 years on from his first, where he saw off Stephen Hendry 10-6 in the final. Only once, in 2016, has he made the final of the event and failed to win.

O'Sullivan also hauled himself level with Hendry's all-time record haul of 18 titles at the sport's Triple Crown majors, which are made up of the UK Championship, World Championship and Masters.

There is no sign of the Rocket slowing down, unlike Hendry and Davis who by this stage in their careers had entered a steep decline.

And there is little doubt the man who first landed the UK title as a 17-year-old could claim both records outright and others to boot before his career winds down, despite hinting he could sit out next year's UK Championship in favour of a stint in the I'm A Celebrity jungle.

ahead of Monday's start.

O'Sullivan is drawn against Michael Georgiou in round one with their match scheduled for Tuesday. Should he make it all the way to the final of an event he's won twice before, Murphy could again lie in wait.

Looking further ahead, O'Sullivan can be backed at a boosted where he's second-favourite to Mark Selby, but he's is a warm jolly for The Masters.

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