Ronnie OSullivan
Ronnie O'Sullivan has once again shown the world that he is the
master of the long green. He has captured, in scintillating style, his
fourth World Masters Championship by defeating a very game Mark Selby
by the score of 10 frames to 8.
All snooker fans know that to win a tournament in
snooker is no small feat. A 'frame' is a single rack and can take 20
minutes or longer to complete, though some famous runs have occurred in
much less time. But if each frame takes 20 minutes then a match that
comprises 18 frames is going to require the endurance to remain focused
and steady for somewhere around 6 hours. There is a break taken in the
middle of the match, but snooker matches require endurance and are not
often won by fluke.
O'Sullivan has proven himself to be one of the
greatest players the game has ever seen. While he sometimes sends the
officials of the game reeling, as he did last year with his on-camera
comments in China about oral sex, no one has ever questioned his
abilities with the cue.
Mark Selby had gone through the brackets undefeated
to reach the finals and was solidly on his game. He kept pace with
O'Sullivan through the first session and went to the break tied at 4
frames apiece. In the second session the two players exchanged frames
and wound up tied again at 8 frames each. But then O'Sullivan took
advantage of the opportunities that defending champion Selby provided
him and, after midnight, claimed the title as his own.
