Summary Ronnie O'Sullivan retained snooker's World Championship title with an 18-12 win over Barry Hawkins.
SHEFFIELD (AFP) - Ronnie O Sullivan retained snooker s World Championship title with an 18-12 win over Barry Hawkins at Sheffield s Crucible Theatre on Monday.
O Sullivan s victory saw him become the first player to mount a successful title defence since Stephen Hendry in 1996 and gave the 37-year-old his fifth world championship in total.
His latest World Championship was all the more impressive as O Sullivan had effectively taken a year out from the sport since his 2012 Crucible triumph.
Fans favourite O Sullivan said during this year s edition that he was only playing to pay his son s overdue school fees and, not for the first time, threatened to retire from snooker.
The Rocket started Monday s final session 15-10 ahead, needing just three more frames for victory and having already compiled six century breaks -- a record for a Crucible final.
But maiden finalist Hawkins kept his fellow Englishman waiting by taking the first two frames of the evening session before a trio of 50-plus breaks saw O Sullivan, widely regarded as snooker s most naturally talented player, to the title.
