With a thrilling 10-7 victory over Ali Carter on Sunday at Alexandra Palace, Ronnie O’Sullivan overcame a late deficit to win a record-tying eighth Masters title. O’Sullivan now has a chance to win all three Triple Crown tournaments in the same season for the first time.
Despite setting a record-breaking Masters record, Ronnie O’Sullivan acknowledges he is still concerned if his game is good enough to win an eighth World Championship title later this year.
29 years after his first-ever triumph in the event, O’Sullivan overcame a 6-3 deficit to defeat Ali Carter 10-7 and won a record-tying eighth Masters title at Alexandra Palace. This made him the oldest winner in the history of the competition.
A month after winning the UK Championship for an eighth time, the 48-year-old needed seven of his final eight frames to claim victory and the £250,000 top prize. O’Sullivan now has the chance to win all three of snooker’s Triple Crown tournaments in the same season.
The only three players to have won all Triple Crown events in the same season in the past are Steve Davis (1987/88), Stephen Hendry (1989/90 and 1995/96), and Mark Williams (2002/03). O’Sullivan will have the chance to do so when he travels to Sheffield in April.
“I always have a good idea round about February, March whether my game’s in good enough shape to win the Worlds,” O’Sullivan remarked in response to a question regarding his chances of winning an eighth World Championship, which gets underway at the Crucible on April 20.
“I would definitely argue that right now it’s not good enough to feel confident about winning. I’d like to go there with a little more confidence in my game, but I think I can still win it.
“Longer sessions you have to learn to cruise, just win most of your games in second gear, but at the moment I feel like I’m having to squeeze everything out just to get a result.”
