Ronnie O’Sullivan turned in a dominant display to see off Kyren Wilson 9-2 in Sunday’s English Open final in Barnsley, although he insists there is still room for improvement. The 41-year-old endured a turbulent week in Yorkshire, with one of his matches interrupted by a spectator before he had to ask for special permission to play with trainers after spraining his ankle. However, the Rocket put all of that to the back of his mind as he put in a world-class performance to claim his 29th ranking title in Sunday’s showpiece event.
O’Sullivan, who is priced at 6/1 to win the 2018 World Championship, opened up a commanding 6-2 lead after the first session and he continued to impress after the break, winning the next three frames in succession. The Englishman eventually wrapped the match up with a break of 131, which was complimented by three further 100-plus breaks throughout the course of the match. The five-time world champion’s triumph sees him surpass Steve Davis’ tally of 28 ranking titles, but he feels that he still has areas that require extra work. O’Sullivan said: “You don’t play that well unless you feel you have to. That was as good as I could play amongst the balls. I made some really good breaks, the most important one was at 6-2. “I was crafting breaks today, but there’s still room for improvement on certain shots.”
Wilson was competing in his second final of the season, having previously lost to Ding Junhui at the World Open, and O’Sullivan believes he has a big future in the sport. The winner added: “He will undoubtedly be a world champion. He’s the man of the future and I’m just enjoying trying to hold on to him.”
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