Ronnie O'Sullivan produced an excellent display of snooker to defeat Judd Trump in the final of the Shanghai Masters and earn his 30th ranking title.
Comfortable passages in the semi-finals
Both players had been in scintillating form all week and undoubtedly deserved their places in the final. Judd Trump won 22 consecutive frames as he went 2-0 ahead against Jack Lisowski who was playing in his first ranking semi-final against the number four seed.
Lisowski did strike back to not only pick up the first frame of the week against Trump but also draw level. However, after trading two more frames to leave the score 3-3, Trump accelerated to win three successive frames and ease into the final.
Meanwhile, O'Sullivan had only dropped four frames in as many matches before he met John Higgins in the second semi-final. The Scotsman, then tied on 29 ranking titles with the Rocket, took the opener before losing three on the bounce.
The number three seed dragged a frame back, only to lose the next three as O'Sullivan secured a 6-2 win with a break of 123.
Seven consecutive frames set the Rocket alight
Going into the final, the statistics showed that the duo had won 52 of just 61 frames played between them across the week. A fast start was going to be key to the contest and it was O'Sullivan who hit the accelerator first.
The Rocket raced into a 7-0 lead after registering five half-century breaks. However, Trump did give himself hope by picking up the final two frames of the first session.
Yet the break only served the refresh O'Sullivan who hit a 108 to go 8-2 ahead. Trump fought back again but the twelfth frame proved pivotal as O'Sullivan thwarted a break of 63 by Trump as he won the frame on the final black. The Rocket then secured a tactical success in the thirteenth and final frame as he simply outclassed his opponent.
It was the third time Trump had lost the Shanghai Masters final, whilst O'Sullivan moved to within six ranking titles of Stephen Hendry's record 36.