Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Ali Carter 18–11 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield to win his fourth world title, after a season spent largely away from the tour.
A final settled early
The match was even at 3–3 before O'Sullivan took the last two frames of the opening session to lead 5–3. He extended that to 10–7 overnight and never surrendered control.
In the third session, a break of 101 moved him to 11–7. He then swept the next three frames for a 14–7 lead, a gap Carter could not close.
A record break and a swift close
O'Sullivan compiled a 141 clearance in the eighth frame, the highest break ever in a world championship final. It surpassed his own 139 from the 2001 final against John Higgins.
The final session needed only four frames. O'Sullivan took three of them to finish an 18–11 victory, with an average frame time under nineteen minutes.
A fourth crown and an enduring edge
At 36, O'Sullivan became the oldest world champion since Ray Reardon in 1978. The title added to his 2001, 2004 and 2008 Crucible wins, though he would later extend that tally to seven.
The result extended a perfect record against Carter, who had now lost all twelve ranking-event meetings between them. Carter, who had battled Crohn's disease that season, said afterwards his opponent was "the better man."
O'Sullivan credited sports psychologist Steve Peters, telling reporters, "I wouldn't have been playing if it wasn't for Steve… I've had to face things that I didn't want to face." He soon announced a six-month sabbatical, played only one competitive match before the next world championship — and won it again.
