World Championship - Ronnie O'Sullivan Seals Fourth World Title

World Snooker Championship Final Day: Ronnie O'Sullivan seals his fourth world title by beating Ali Carter 18-11 in the final. Congratulations!

Ronnie O'Sullivan seals fourth world title with his son Ronnie Junior (right)

O'Sullivan led Ali Carter by 10-7 overnight and he had a blinking start in the third session as well. The Rocket blasted to take all four frames before mid interval to lead Ali Carter by 14-7. We were thinking if there would be night session as Ronnie only needed four more to lift up the trophy.

The Captain finally won his first frame in the third session during frame 22. He added another two frames on the scoreboard with breaks of 105 and 53, looked forward to take another frame at the end of third session to reduce the deficit. Notwithstanding Carter tried hard, O'Sullivan won the last frame with efforts of 64 and 55 to go 15-10 ahead. He just required three more frames in the last session to crown.

Ronnie O'Sullivan

First frame of the night session went to Ronnie's hand before Carter put up a fight in the next to trail 11-16. Carter would love to drag the match into mid interval but The Rocket won the other two frames required to seal his fourth World Title. Ronnie Junior and Ronnie's mother Maria were delighted, joining the celebrations. 

Ronnie O'Sullivan replaces John Higgins to become the oldest player to win the World Championship, at age of 36 and five months. He now shares the same number of World Title (four) and 24 ranking titles with John Higgins. The Rocket has beaten three World Champions (Ebdon, Williams, Robertson) and two World Finalists (Stevens, Carter) on the road to conquer the Crucible for the fourth time.

Ronnie held his son tightly through out the whole prize ceremony, he said: "I didn't think I'd ever get the opportunity to share a moment like this with my son Ronnie so it's so nice to have him here. He loves snooker, I've tried to turn him off it but he's having none of it. I got a bit emotional even before the match was over because I felt it was just me and him in the whole arena. It's the best feeling I've ever had in my life.'' 

O'Sullivan: It's the best feeling I've ever had in my life

He also thanked Dr. Steve Peters for helping him along the way, ''we're fortunate to be able to play this game, so it's allowed me to be happy in my life and enjoy the game as well. I'm not a better player, I'm just giving myself more of a chance I suppose.'' 

Being asked about if he would retire after the massive victory, "I've had a long time to think about everything I've done. I'm not saying I have retired but what I am saying is that my family has become the most important thing in my life. I've made plans, but I'm making no knee-jerk reactions, I'm taking a few months off and I'll assess the situation. I know there's a big responsibility for me to promote the game and I think I do do that, and if I could play in every tournament I would but it's hard sometimes.''

The runner-up Carter said: "I'm just disappointed to lose. I didn't feel like I played well in the final, Ronnie put me under all kinds of pressure out there, his safety was unbelievable, even his break offs had me in trouble every time. I was pleased I did compete and I'll be back next year. Ronnie played the better snooker so he's going to get the luck, but the better man won. He's a genius and it's the Ronnie O'Sullivan show.''

Carter: I'm just disappointed to lose

First of all congratulations to Ronnie. He played a great tournament with consistency in the past 17 days. I am happy to see him having better mentality compared to his last two appearances at the Crucible. He has got the right mind after winning the German Masters in February. I hope that he can keep this to play on the next year.

Although Carter lost to O'Sullivan again in the final after 2008, his journey to get to the final is good enough for the man who has been struggling with Crohn's disease in the past 12 months. The moment that he beaten Judd Trump 13-12 from 9-12 down was huge. It was completely out of my expectation, indeed in a good way. Carter lost his top 16 place despite reaching the final, I truly believe he will get back into the elites very soon.

World Snooker Championship 2012 Results

World Championship - O'Sullivan Ahead Of Carter In The Final

World Snooker Championship Day 16: Ronnie O'Sullivan led Ali Carter by 10-7 overnight in the World Final, after two sessions of playing.

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter before the World Final

The final started in a quirky way. The cueball went off when Carter scored which Ronnie punished for such a mistake to take the opening frame. The first century in the final appeared in the second frame, 117 from The Rocket to go 2-0 up. Carter settled down in the next frame, levelling off 2-2 at mid interval with a top break of 84.

The first two frames after mid interval were shared before Ronnie made a superb 92 clearance to lead 4-3. One more frame to end the session, O'Sullivan produced total clearance of 141 to lead 5-3 before the night session started. Although Carter won the opening frame of the night session but O'Sullivan won the next three to gain three-frame advantage at mid session.

Once led The Captain by 9-6, Ronnie seemed would have four-frame-cushion but The Captain got the last frame of second session with the aid of a fluke. Ronnie O'Sullivan still leads by 10-7 overnight.

Ali did not play his game too well today, neither Ronnie was at his best. Perhaps Carter should go for more long pots with confidence as energy storage is crucial in long matches. I don't deny the strategy of putting more safety into his game but I think playing his own game will be the more comfortable.

First player to win 18 frames would lift the trophy and top prize of 250000 pounds. Ronnie needs 8 more while Carter needs 11. Third session kicks off at 2.30pm and the final session starts at 7.30pm.

World Snooker Championship 2012 Results/Live, Draw & Match/TV Schedule

World Championship - Carter And O'Sullivan Repeat 2008 World Final

World Snooker Championship Day 15: Ali Carter and Ronnie O'Sullivan set up a repeat of 2008 World Final in 2012.

We are back to 2008 World Final, the two finalists

The Captain was the first one to book his final place, his second world final. Carter led Maguire by 14-10 before the final session, he simply did not want the match to go into mid interval. In the opening scrappy frame, Carter was trapped in a superb snooker that missed to hit the red for six times until Referee Leo Scullion decided not calling a foul. Maguire went for the double but missed, left Carter a difficult red but Carter potted it and cleared up.


A superb fluked red in the next frame put Carter just one frame away from victory, 16-10. The match appeared to be finished before mid interval, Maguire hit back to win the next two frames to keep his hope alive. Nevertheless, Carter got his job done with a 70 break to claim the victory, 17-12.

Carter And Maguire

The former Welsh Open and Shanghai Masters champion said: "I'm not just happy being in the final. We'll see what happens. On the performance of his opponent, Carter said: "I'm surprised by the way Stephen played. I think he thought he was going to beat me easily the way he started." Maguire said after his lost, "There were at least eight frames I lost on the colours or the last red. I took so many hits I felt like a punchbag out there. It starts to hurt after a while when you get so close. I don't know how to take this one to be honest."


The third session of O'Sullivan versus Stevens were shared, 4-4 despite the fact that Stevens could win the session and got closer on the scoreline. Stevens showed his effort to trail by 9-12 but his errors during the last two frames of the session put Ronnie into a good position to reach the final. Ronnie claimed 15-9 lead, and during the last session of the semi-finals, Stevens surrendered by 10-17.

The Rocket may retire after the championship? 

 "I don't intend to stay in the game long; even though I've been in a much better place I've made the decision that this might be my last time playing in this tournament," said 36-year-old O'Sullivan. "I've weighed up the plusses and the minuses and I'm quite comfortable with that decision, if I win it great, absolute bonus, if I don't at least I can say I've gone out on a high.'' "Yes! I hope he does retire!" said the Welshman. "I can't see him doing it but you never know with Ronnie, if he did retire as world champion, what a perfect way to finish but I think he loves the game too much.

The two players in this year World Final are the same as that of in 2008 but the main difference would be none of them has made a 147 in the previous rounds. The final in 2008 was not close, Carter lost by 8-18. However, Carter got advices from Peter Ebdon this year. "I feel totally different to the way I did four years ago. I was mentally knackered then. I wasn't getting to bed until about 3 in the morning."

Who Will Lift The Trophy?

The head-to-head is all the way Ronnie O'Sullivan leads, 13-1. Carter has never beaten Ronnie in a ranking tournament but Carter needs the title to put himself back into the top 16. I hope it would stimulate Ali trying to play his best snooker but still O'Sullivan is the favourite to win his fourth world title. 

World Snooker Championship 2012 Results/Live, Draw & Match/TV Schedule

World Championship - O'Sullivan And Carter Lead In The Semis

World Snooker Championship Day 14: Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ali Carter lead their opponents in the semi-finals, hopefully the 2008 World Final will be repeated.

Rocket O'Sullivan

Leading 5-3 before the second session, O'Sullivan struggled at the beginning. Matthew Stevens took the opening two frames of the session to level 5-5 after stunning 63 clearance to steal the frame from Ronnie's hands. The Rocket played better, 62 and a ton put him 7-5 ahead of Stevens at the mid interval.

Ronnie found his form, winning another four in a row (total six a row this session) with runs of 98, 94 and a ton. The Essex cueman had an clear advantage over Stevens, 11-5 with two more session to go tomorrow. He could kill off the match tomorrow morning if he win six out of eight frames to be played during the third session.

I believe many Rocket fans may found an interesting pattern - O'Sullivan played his best snooker during the second session of the match. He took six consecutive frames during second session in the four matches he have played in the championship so far. What a weapon to win a match.

Captain Carter flying high in the sky

Carter extended his lead to 14-10 after the first two sessions. Carter dominated the match, 5-3 and 10-6. He won most of the tight frames on colours, even down to the final black.  The standard of the match is higher today, Carter made breaks of 118, 134, 73 to lead 14-7. However, Maguire took the final three frames of third session to ensure Carter would not have a session to spare tomorrow.

Carter v Maguire will finish at 2.30pm and winner of O'Sullivan v Stevens will be determined at 7pm.

World Snooker Championship 2012 Results/Live, Draw & Match/TV Schedule

World Championship - O'Sullivan Saw Off Robertson To Made Semi-Finals

World Snooker Championship Day 12: Ronnie O’Sullivan, Stephen Maguire, Ali Carter and Matthew Stevens are the four players who advanced to semi-finals.

O'Sullivan saw off Robertson to make semi-finals

The Rocket trailed Neil Robertson by 3-5 after the first session. The three-time World Champion had a brilliant performance in the second session, taking six frames in a row to lead Robertson by 9-5 with a few quality breaks. Despite struggling at the afternoon, the 2010 World Champion claimed last two frames of the session to trail 7-9 before final session kicked off.

Ronnie had a healthy lead 12-8 over Robertson with runs of 100 and 104 but Robertson swung back to trail 10-12 with 89 and 77. Ronnie killed the match with 59 in the frame 23 to beat Robertson by 13-10.

Poor afternoon session cost Robertson the match

Following his victory, the 36 year-old said: "It's nice to enjoy the game, and to play with openness which is my natural game. Robertson said, "I played too slowly in the afternoon - I just couldn't get going, I couldn't get any rhythm. On his opponent, O'Sullivan added: "Neil's had a great tournament, he's been fantastic and he's had another good season."

This is the first Crucible semi-finals since 2008 for The Rocket. He will play Matthew Stevens who beaten Ryan Day by 13-5, winning 10 straight frames to enter the semi-finals. Stevens, who will now play either Ronnie O'Sullivan or Neil Robertson, said: "I'd be lying if I said that I thought I'd get back here - to the semi-finals of the World Championship.'' "It would mean everything to win it, but I feel I'm going to have to improve if I'm going to go any further.''

Ali Carter came through tests from Jamie Jones with scoreline of 13-11 to advance to semi-finals. Carter led Jones by 9-7 in the previous session, he made a good start to be 12-8 up on Jones. The Crucible debutant took the following three frames. The pressure is now on The Captain's shoulder. Carter who overcame Trump in the last round held his nerve to win with a break of 73. 

Jamie Jones & Ali Carter

"What an incredible performance [from Jamie] to get through to a quarter-final and make so many century breaks, he's an awesome player, gutsy as you like. He reminds me of Graeme Dott, always there on your heels and it was only my safety that won me the match." Jone said, "I'm so at home out there I can't really explain it, I've loved being here, it's been the best experience of my life.

Stephen Maguire saw off Stephen Hendry yesterday by 13-2 and therefore he got a session to spare today. Tomorrow will be down to one table set-up, with Maguire versus Carter and O'Sullivan versus Stevens.

World Snooker Championship 2012 Results/Live, Draw & Match/TV Schedule

Stephen Hendry Announced Retirement

Stephen Hendry made the announcement of retiring from the game at the press conference of his quarter-finals defeat. He lost to Stephen Maguire by 2-13. His decision shocked everybody. 

The Legend Stephen Hendry

The seven-time World Champion has beaten Stuart Bingham and the Defending Champion John Higgins to reach the quarter-finals. I believe Hendry had not regret as he made his eleventh maximum break in the first round, to level off Ronnie O'Sullivan's record of making the most 147s.

Hendry said in his press conference: "I made the decision about three months ago, I didn't tell many people, I only told two or three people but this is me finished in tournament snooker. It was quite an easy decision, there's a few reasons which I'm not going to go into in detail and bore you with. The schedule didn't help, the fact that I'm not playing the snooker I want to play doesn't help, the fact I don't enjoy practice doesn't help. I've got other things I want to do, I've got a lot of commitments now in China which I've signed up for and I can't do both, I can't do that and play snooker, because I would never be at home, so the time is right for me.

"If I'd have won this event, it would have been an even better way to go out. I'm delighted that I've made a maximum here, that's why I was more animated than normal when making it, I was delighted to do it on my last appearance here. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing, I thought about it last year, but 2 or 3 months ago I decided enough was enough.

After dropping out of the Top 16 this season, Hendry seemed to play better snooker compared to the previous season. Making a maximum at the Crucible, his last tournament to be played in the professional circuit is the best ending of his career. Although Hendry had not won a full ranking title since 2005 Malta Cup, he had archived more than everybody had won so far in the game. 

Being one of the greatest player ever in the sport, I wish Hendry all the best in the future. Thank you for all your brilliant matches and magic moments that brought to us in these 26 years.

World Championship - Captain Ali Carter Massive Turnaround on Judd Trump

World Snooker Championship Day 10: The Captain Ali Carter made a massive turnaround on Judd Trump, winning 13-12 from 9-12 down to reach quarter-finals.

Captain Ali's massive turnaround

Ali Carter did not enjoy a good season this year due to his Crohn's disease. Having only reached one quarter-finals this season, Carter came to the Crucible with a good form. He won his first round match, beating Mark Davis by 10-2 to meet Judd Trump. However, Carter fell 7-9 down behind after second session. I believe not many people could believe The Captain would make a comeback.


The first four frames of the final session were shared between Trump and Carter. Trump went for 147 in frame 19 but he broken down on the 13th red. After the mid interval, Trump added another frame on the scoreboard, setting to reach quarter-finals for the second consecutive years, leading Carter by 12-9.

Judd Trump and Ali Carter

Fearless Carter tried maximum in the next frame but he ran out of position on 81. He found himself back into the match, winning the next two frames with a top break of 53 to level 12-12 against Trump, forcing a decider. The UK Champion had two good chances to score in the decider but missed the opportunity on easy balls. Carter made 47 to go 48 points ahead, with one red left on the table only.


Never-give-up Trump got three out of the four snookers he needed but The Essex man finally potted the last red to secure the thrilling victory. The Captain clinched his fist to celebrate the massive victory. Trump is gracious in defeat, "If I was fully fit then I would expect to play a lot better but I just tried to play the best I could in the conditions. He played better, he was more mentally ready and I struggled," he said. 

Trump struggled in the last few frames

"I knew I was hitting the ball well, at 12-9 I thought just get to 12-10 and he knows I'm there," said Carter. "I played some solid match snooker at 12-11 and that's all it takes. Judd just pots them from everywhere but there's more to this game than just potting them from everywhere believe me, and I've proved that today.'' "Now he (Trump) can feel what it feels like to have a nasty scar in your career. He was in it to win it but so am I."

Ali Carter will face Jamie Jones next in the quarter-finals, who saw off Andrew Higginson by 13-10. Higginson won four in a row to level 10-10 from 6-10 down but the 24-year-old held it off to win with runs of 135 and 50. Jones said, "With qualifying it is four long matches I have played now but I still feel really fresh and I am looking forward to my next game. I have played against Carter once before and I won, so hopefully that's a good omen!''

Ronnie O'Sullivan blasted into the final eight with a 13-6 victory over Williams. "I haven't had an easy draw," said O'Sullivan, who is aiming for his fourth world title. "I think whoever wins this tournament will have to beat Neil Robertson and I've got to play him in the quarters so it's definitely not easy. But I'm a competitor, I'll always give it my best and we'll see."

Matthew Stevens

Matthew Stevens set up a all-Welsh quarter-finals match against Ryan Day after defeating Barry Hawkins 13-10. This is Steven's first quarter-finals in five years, "My last final here was seven years ago and I'm not getting any younger, but I still feel as if I can compete with the so-called top players, if I play my game and score heavily.''

World Snooker Championship 2012 Results/Live, Draw & Match/TV Schedule