• World Snooker Championship

Unstoppable Rocket powers to fourth Crucible title

Ronnie O'Sullivan was in top form at the resumption of the final © PA Photos

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Ronnie O'Sullivan underlined his status as one of the game's greats as he claimed a fourth Crucible crown after easing to an 18-11 victory over Ali Carter at the World Snooker Championship.

Holding a 15-10 lead heading into Monday night's finale, O'Sullivan knew that Carter would be desperate to get off to a flyer at the resumption. Unfortunately for Carter, he did not find O'Sullivan in a charitable mood and it was the Rocket who took first honours.

When Carter failed to convert a half chance O'Sullivan pounced to get the scoreboard ticking. After slightly running out of position after a run of 22 he opted to play safe, leading to a lengthy tactical battle.

Carter buckled first, leaving a red on after misjudging his safety effort, and O'Sullivan needed no second invitation to add his first frame of the night to inch ever closer to a fourth Crucible crown.

There were no obvious nerves from O'Sullivan, more of a serene calmness rarely associated with the talented Essex cueman. Carter, by contrast, looked weighed down by the fact he knew he could ill afford any mistakes, the Captain again leaving a red on and inviting O'Sullivan to up the ante.

However, O'Sullivan failed to close the door, leaving the black on the table when trying to force an angle back onto a red. It meant some respite for Carter and enabled him to pot his first ball for 43 minutes. The break looked all but over when the cue ball raced off the side cushion to cosy up next to the pink, but he somehow found enough room to sink the colour and bring the other reds into play. A 64 break proved enough, even if O'Sullivan - now needing a snooker - got another opportunity, that ultimately came and passed, after his opponent missed an easy red.

Carter's relief was only temporary, some wayward safety play allowing O'Sullivan to move within one of the title with breaks of 26 and 46. As was so often the case in this year's final, Carter's safety play was not quite at the level needed to put the Rocket under sustained pressure and, when a containing shot was not executed perfectly, O'Sullivan was in.

A thin cut to the middle sent him on his way, with a match-winning run of 61 the end result as O'Sullivan, 36, became the oldest winner since his former mentor Ray Reardon clinched his fifth world title in 1978 at the age of 45.

"It's been very hard to come here and stand it for 17 days," he told the BBC. "It's an endurance test, the equivalent of doing an ironman. It isn't so much the snooker it's about controlling your emotions and holding it together."

When asked what his immediate plans were, O'Sullivan added: "I'm having a good six months off to spend time with my son and daughter, then I will assess the situation."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.