Ronnie O'Sullivan cruised to victory in the final of the English Open with a resounding 9-2 victory over Kyren Wilson.
It was an excellent performance from the five-times World champion that included four century breaks and a break of at least 50 in every single frame he won in the match. O'Sullivan will now have all eyes on him, even more than they usually are, as he is now the only man who can win the million pound home nations bonus, if he could follow up his win in Barnsley with further triumphs in Belfast, Glasgow and Cardiff in the coming months.
The Rocket was quick out of the blocks in the afternoon session, starting with a break of 115 to take the opening frame. Things could have been very different however, after Wilson then levelled the contest with a run of 74 before then having chances to go 2-1 ahead. It may not have seemed that important at the time, when Wilson went in-off on the final pink, and then leaving the black over the jaws of the pocket when a second chance came, but he also would not have known at the time that he would only win one more frame.
O'Sullivan pounced and made sure he fully punished Wilson, making a total clearance of 131 in the fourth frame to move 3-1 ahead and leave the Warrior ruing his error from the frame earlier. Wilson came back from the mid-session interval and responded well with a century of his own, a 109 keeping him in touch with Ronnie at 2-3. From there though he would only claim another four points in the afternoon session and 36 points in the rest of the final altogether as O'Sullivan hit top gear.
The final three frames of the opening session were over in a flash, with O'Sullivan just needing one chance in each with contributions of 77, 87 and 96 giving him a 6-2 advantage to take into the evenings play.
To have any chance, Wilson knew he would have to come out at the start of session two firing on all cylinders and get frames on the board early, and he certainly had a foothold in frame nine until O'Sullivan's chance came. A sublime clearance of 50 was really the knock-out blow to the hopes of the former Shanghai Masters champion as he fell 7-2 adrift.
Wilson was not made to suffer for long though as O'Sullivan finished proceedings quickly and with true class, making back-to-back total clearances of 127 and 132 to top off a superb week on the table and leave Barnsley with people talking about his snooker, rather than anything away from the baize.
Kyren Wilson certainly deserves some credit for reaching a second big final in three tournaments and he will have plenty more opportunities to get his hands on some silverware, not just this season but for many years to come. Wilson joins Shaun Murphy in the "Mulitiple losing finalists of the 2017/2018 club" after Murphy made back-to-back ranking finals in August but did not take home the trophy on either occassion.
A special mention should also go to Alexander Ursenbacher who made the semi-finals this week, a superb step up from his previous best finish in a ranking event of the last 32. He showed great style in victories over Shaun Murphy and Michael White and did not roll over against Wilson in the semi's. It's a brilliant sign for snooker in Europe that another genuine top talent has come through and I'm sure we will be seeing a lot more of him in the coming years.
Next up though on the snooker circuit is a trip to a trip to Daqing in China for the International Championships, with another £150,000 to go with that offered by the Chinese ranking events of earlier in the season. The action begins with an early start for fans in UK and Europe on Sunday October 29.
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