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Ronnie O'Sullivan takes the 2004 Embassy World ChampionshipsSnooker genius Ronnie O’Sullivan captured the Embassy World Championship title for the second time by wrapping up an emphatic 18-8 defeat of Graeme Dott at the Crucible tonight (Monday). Rocket Ronnie fell 5-0 behind early in the final but then stepped up the gears and raced away to win by a comfortable margin. His fans at the packed Sheffield arena watched in delight as he lifted the glittering trophy and pocketed a cheque for £250,000. Perhaps the most gifted player ever to pick up a cue, O’Sullivan had to wait nine years between turning professional and winning his first world title. But he has since fulfilled his potential by taking the sport’s biggest prize twice in the space of four years. The 28-year-old from Chigwell in Essex joins a select band of players to have won the Championship on more than one occasion at the Crucible. Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Mark Williams are the only other members of this elite group. Leading 16-8 after the third session, O’Sullivan soon extended his lead with a quick-fire break of 92 to draw within a frame of the winning line. He showed a few signs of nerves in the next, but with Dott mentally and physically exhausted, there was no question of the result. Runs of 29 and 33 put the Englishman in control, and after Dott had missed a short range red along the top cushion, he added 22 to seal victory. Mum Maria and younger sister Danielle embraced the new champion, as friend ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed shouted his congratulations from the theatre balcony. Glasgow’s world No 13 Dott may be disappointed to go down without much of a fight today, having led 5-0 early in the contest. But the Rangers fan will look back on the event with delight, having beaten the likes of John Higgins and Matthew Stevens on his way to the final. His brilliant run earned him his biggest pay-cheque, £125,000, and guaranteed his place in the top 16 for another season. Ultimately, fatigue caught up with the Pocket Dynamo – he had played 94 frames on his way to the final, compared to O’Sullivan’s 77. O’Sullivan’s snooker in past years has been frequently brilliant, but he has been plagued by inconsistency and known to give in to frustration when not able to find his free-flowing ‘A’ game. This season, he has found a new level of maturity, showing determination to grind out results when not at his best. That grittiness has been in evidence throughout the past fortnight at the Crucible as he has combined glorious break-building with rock solid safety and tactical play. He easily beat Anthony Hamilton 13-3 in the quarter-finals, then took Hendry apart in the semis with a 17-4 romp. New guru Ray Reardon must take some credit for O’Sullivan’s triumph, though the ‘new Ronnie’ has been producing results throughout the season. He won the Welsh Open in Cardiff in January and reached the final of the Masters and the British Open, and also took the inaugural LG Electronics Tour Order of Merit title. O’Sullivan goes back to No 1 in the official rankings next season, taking the top spot from Mark Williams. He is the only player other than Williams and Reardon to regain the No 1 spot. His career on-table earnings go over the £4million mark. But money is not the issue for the Rocket tonight – his name engraved once again on the famous trophy is all that matters. Date. 03/05/2004 20.46.49 Contact. World Snooker Media Office on 0117-317-8200 First round Alan McManus (Scot) bt Chris Small (Scot) 10-1 Mark Williams (Wal) bt Dominic Dale (Wal) 10-7 Andy Hicks (Eng) bt Quinten Hann (Aus) 10-4 Joe Swail (NI) bt Ken Doherty (Rep Ire) 10-5 John Higgins (Scot) bt Ryan Day (Wal) 10-9 Matthew Stevens (Wal) bt James Wattana (Thai) 10-7 Joe Perry (Eng) bt Robert Milkins (Eng) 10-7 Ian McCulloch (Eng) bt Peter Ebdon (Eng) 10-8 Barry Pinches (Eng)bt Jimmy White (Eng) 10-8 Graeme Dott (Scot) bt Mark King (Eng) 10-9 Lee Walker (Wal) bt Stephen Lee (Eng) 10-7 Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) bt Stephen Maguire (Scot) 10-6 Stephen Hendry (Scot) bt Stuart Pettman (Eng) 10-2 David Gray (Eng) bt Ali Carter (Eng) 10-7 Paul Hunter (Eng) bt John Parrott (Eng) 10-7 Anthony Hamilton (Eng) bt Steve Davis (Eng) 10-7 Second round O'Sullivan bt Hicks 13-11 Perry bt Williams 13-11 Stevens bt Hunter 13-12 Hamilton bt Swail 13-11 Gray bt Walker 13-5 Hendry bt Pinches 13-12 McCulloch bt McManus 13-6 Dott bt Higgins 13-10 Quarter-finals O'Sullivan bt Hamilton 13-3 Stevens bt Perry 13-10 Hendry bt McCulloch 13-3 Dott bt Gray 13-7 Semi-finals Dott bt Stevens 17-15 O'Sullivan bt Hendry 17-4 Final O'Sullivan bt Dott 16-8 World Snooker - 5/5/2004 |
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