In the early morning of May 3, Beijing time, the 2022 Snooker World Championship decided the champion, and Ronnie O'Sullivan, a 46-year-old Taiwanese superstar nicknamed "Rocket", defeated the "post-80s" outstanding golfer Trump 18-13 to lift the World Championship trophy for the seventh time. This brilliant record equaled the "Seven Crowns" record previously set by billiards "Emperor" Hendry.
In addition, this victory also allowed the "Rocket" to complete the seven crowns of all snooker's "three majors" (7 world championships, 7 British championships, and 7 masters championships) for the first time in history, and the total number of champions in the "three major competitions" ranked first in history. He is also the oldest World Champion in history (46 years and 148 days).
This tournament is the eighth time in O'Sullivan's career that he has reached the final of the World Championships, and the Rockets have missed only one championship in the past seven times. The World Championship final adopts a long-term format of 35 innings and 18 wins, which is recognized by the industry as a pure strength competition. Facing Trump, who was eliminated in the semi-finals, the fiery "golden left hand" Mark Williams, O'Sullivan showed a stable mindset and experience in the competition beyond his opponents.
In the first stage, O'Sullivan took the lead, leading 5-3 on aggregate; in the second stage, the "Rockets" seized on the opponent's mistakes and played high-quality offense consecutively to extend the total score to 12-5; in the face of a huge lead, the "Rockets" relaxed slightly in the third stage, and Trump, who did not give up his efforts, returned a 6-2 and chased the total score to 11-14. In the fourth stage, O'Sullivan regrouped and won 18-13.
8 finals and 7 championships, the "Rocket" world championship winning rate of 87.5%. In addition, this is the 29th time that he has reached the final of snooker's "three major competitions", winning a total of 21 times, and the final winning rate of the "three major competitions" is as high as 72.4%. After winning the £500,000 prize money for the World Championships, O'Sullivan is firmly at number one in the world rankings.
After the race, the 46-year-old veteran, accompanied by his family, lifted the trophy and received a standing ovation from hundreds of spectators inside the Crucible Theatre. "It's a 'Titan battle' with a young and competitive rival." O'Sullivan said, "I was fighting every point, even when I was leading 12-5, I knew that the game was far from over. In my opinion, Trump is already a best player of all time, he is a player with a lot of energy. There is no doubt that he will win a few more World Championships. ”
Finally I gave Trump a big hug and sobbed in his arms. He said something very warm to me, he was a really good guy, and it wasn't until this moment that I realized how he saw me. It was simply great to have him for Snooker. I've been very emotional for the past few years, which may have something to do with getting older. In the face of the outstanding achievements of the "Seven Champions", O'Sullivan admitted that he did not care much about the record in the past, but the game sometimes did play well. And when he deliberately pursues results, he will not be able to come up with a good performance, I just enjoy the game, enjoy the atmosphere of competition and the field, enjoy every shot, and then work the skills and train hard. 」 As for whether or not to win the championship, it is left to the god of snooker to decide – fortunately, he has been on my side for 17 days. ”
Speaking about the next goal, the Rockets said, "This season, I've been happy with every event I've played, even some not very high-level games, and I enjoyed keeping a low profile. Once, the World Championships would show my worst side. For the past seven or eight years, I've tried to keep myself emotionally less volatile and use the game as my training ground. I love competing with everyone, and maybe I can try again next year. ”
"I was tired from the first two stages of the game and wasn't ready. The next two stages caught up a little bit, but it was a little too late and it was very happy to be able to give my all in the game, and I enjoyed the feeling of being able to play with a smile, which would allow me to enjoy snooker again. Trump said, "I would like to warmly congratulate O'Sullivan, I am very happy to play on the same table as him." He's been very good to me throughout my career, he practiced with me when I was younger and I tried to learn experience and technique from him. He's got amazing results, he's the greatest player in snooker history. ”
Trump further said O'Sullivan has grown stronger as he gets older, showing firmness and a desire to win in the game. In the 31 innings of the final, there were almost no mistakes. Throughout the event, it is also often a lot ahead of the opponent.
Billiards "Emperor" Hendry, who witnessed the Rockets' victory moment in the commentary booth, also praised O'Sullivan, "He deserves this victory." As I talked about in the commentary, he took the snooker movement to new heights. In fact, I was surprised that it took him so long to win 7 titles. When I tied Steve Davis with 6 crowns, I was determined to get 7. So, I'm sure O'Sullivan will do the same, and will get the eighth crown to be satisfied. That's the goal, it's as simple as that, he's a win machine, he says he doesn't care about the record, but he'll want to pick up the cup here for the eighth time. He dominated the World Championships from start to finish, surprising four people again and again. He may not have been under any pressure, it was because he played too well and he refused to let others put pressure on him. ”
The above picture is from the World Federation of Taiwan