Judd Trump won his first Masters title with an emphatic 10-4 victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan at Alexandra Palace.
The 29-year-old began as an underdog in his first Masters final against a player seeking his eighth title, but made an impressive start, sweeping to a 4-0 lead and chalking up breaks of 89, 87 and 56.
O’Sullivan went into the mid-session interval having scored only 45 points in the first four frames, but rallied with a 69 break to take the fifth. That didn’t rattle his opponent, who took the next three frames to open up a 7-1 lead ahead of Sunday’s evening session.
Trailing by six frames going into the final session, O’Sullivan needed a fast start and he got one. He pulled one back in a scrappy opening before a fluked red at the start of the 10th frame let Trump in and he made no mistake with a break of 88.
He was in the balls again and looked set to open up a 9-2 lead before he missed a long red with the rest, and O’Sullivan stepped up with a brilliant clearance of 114 to keep his hopes alive and reduce the arrears to 8-3.
Trump responded by going 9-3 up via a break of 68, leaving O’Sullivan needing to win seven frames in a row. O’Sullivan subsequently registered another century break, posting 109 as he brought the gap down to five frames once again.
However it was Trump’s night, and despite missing a relatively straightforward pink, he was let back in after O’Sullivan left a pink over the pocket. The Bristol left-hander then stepped up to put the match beyond doubt and claim his first Masters title with an emphatic 10-4 victory.
It is Trump’s second “triple crown” title – and first for more than seven years – after winning the 2011 UK Championship. It is just the third defeat for O’Sullivan all season.
