Monday 8 December 2014 10:22, UK
Ronnie O'Sullivan fended off a brilliant Judd Trump comeback to win a dramatic Coral UK Championship by a frame and complete a stellar 2014.
A 10-9 victory gave 39-year-old O'Sullivan, who came into the tournament at York's Barbican Centre with a broken ankle, his fifth UK title, to go with his five World Championship trophies and five Masters crowns.
He wins £150,000, to go with the £44,000 he pocketed for Thursday's brilliant 147 break against Matt Selt.
One blip in O'Sullivan's near-perfect 12 months came with defeat to Mark Selby in the World Championship final but, in capturing the Masters, Welsh Open, Champion of Champions and now this latest triumph, he has shown he is only getting better with age.
Trump was disappointing for a large part of his second UK final, three years after beating Mark Allen in the same venue to carry off the silverware.
But the 25-year-old from Bristol found his potting prowess when on the brink of defeat at 9-4 adrift, and a jaw-dropping recovery saw him force the deciding frame.
Trump treated an enthralled audience to 90 minutes of mid-evening drama as he dashed off back-to-back centuries followed by breaks of 86 and 67 to reduce the best-of-19 contest to a single-frame shoot-out.
If either man was nervy heading into the final frame, it should have been O'Sullivan, but after inching in front early on he rattled in a clinching 51.
Trump, needing snookers, decided he had seen enough and offered O'Sullivan his hand, the pair sharing a warm embrace.
O'Sullivan said: "I can't believe I've won it. I don't want to be playing him in every final. I feel like retiring.
"He's a tough opponent, he's very dynamic and very explosive. He's got so much cue power, he can pot like you wouldn't believe. He's fearless, and he's in your face the whole time, and if you go off the boil he's on you.
"I'm trying to make the most of however long this lasts. It gets harder as you get older but these are great moments. You've got to try to ride that ride as many times as you can.
"I'm going to enjoy this moment. I've won the Champion of Champions title and now the UK Championship. I'm delighted to have had a great few weeks and I can start to think about defending the Masters in January."
Trump added: "I was giving in, but then I got to 9-5 and then I got a few chances and made a few breaks and felt good, and I made a really good clearance to reach 9-9.
"I'm a little bit annoyed I didn't really have a chance in the last frame but I didn't bottle it and gave it my best.
"I left it too late and fair play to Ronnie, he took them well in the last frame and overall he was more of a deserving winner."
