Ronnie O’Sullivan lifted the 2018 Shanghai Masters title after coming from behind to beat Barry Hawkins in the final on Sunday.

O’Sullivan successfully defended the trophy 11-9, a year on after his 10-3 win over Judd Trump.

The 42-year-old trailed for much of the first session, never led in the afternoon and he went into the interval 6-4 down.

However, ‘The Rocket’ soon found his rhythm in the evening session and a break of 113 put him 8-6 in front. Both players then traded blows before O’Sullivan ended the contest with a sensational break of 122.

Sunday’s win is O’Sullivan’s third in Shanghai and he scooped the £200,000 prize after another thrilling tournament in China.

When asked about his performance, O’Sullivan told World Snooker: “Barry probably played the best snooker in the whole tournament. He played a great match with Ding and a good one with Mark Williams. He is the in form player.

“Tough on Barry, but I played well at the end of the match when it mattered so I am really happy to get this victory. I managed to find something on the practice table before the start of the evening. I was struggling with my cueing a bit so it was nice to be able to play with a bit more confidence and freedom.

“It is a very major and prestigious tournament. There are a few like that now though. You have the Champion of Champions, which is a great tournament. This and the Masters are great tournaments, just because every player in it is very very good.”

O’Sullivan’s win means he is now the 4.33 favourite to win the UK Championship later this year.