O’Sullivan Masterclass Captures Paul Hunter Classic

Ronnie O’Sullivan has captured his first title of the 2013/14 season, with a dominant 4-0 victory against surprise finalist Gerard Greene at the Paul Hunter Classic this evening. Click below for a round-up of the latest European Tour event from Germany…

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Having made it through to this evening’s final with victories over Anthony McGill, Stuart Bingham and Mark Selby earlier in the day, reigning world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan hit top form tonight to dispatch Gerard Greene and earn his first trophy since his his Crucible victory back in May.

The final started slowly with a low scoring first frame, but from there O’Sullivan proved to be in a class of his own, hitting breaks of 92, 69, 61 and finally 110 to complete a 4-0 win in under an hour.

Earning him the top prize of €25,000, as well as 2,000 ranking points, the victory all but confirms Ronnie’s place at the PTC Grand Finals next year, while also moving him up a place to fourth on the latest provisional money list.

There is little more to add about O’Sullivan that hasn’t already been said, but as I commented on Twitter earlier this evening, perhaps the scary thing about him is that these days he looks as strong mentally as he has ever done, which makes him an even greater threat than in the past.

Even just a couple of years ago, there was always a feeling that if things went against him, or if he simply did not feel right on the day, then he might give up and vulnerable to an upset. These days however, that just does not seem to happen, even when things are going against him, he will continue to try and apply himself in the right way.

As well as Ronnie though, well done to runner-up Gerard Greene, who following a difficult couple of seasons which have left his tour place in jeopardy, recorded a string of impressive victories to reach his first European Tour event final today.

To put his run into perspective, Gerard won six matches to reach the final, the same number of wins as he recorded during the whole of last season, bringing his total for 2013/14 to 13 in all. Not only does the run see him leap up into the top 64 of the latest provisional money list, but it also sees him move well up the European Order of Merit and all but secure his place on the circuit for next season.

Looking back at the event as a whole, the event proved to be as popular as ever, with the fanatical support that we have come to expect from German snooker fans. The most established event on the European Tour, the event was never going to be a bad one and saw a number of shocks early on, with the likes of Shaun Murphy, Ding Junhui and John Higgins crashing out.

Shout outs are due to the likes of Kyren Wilson, Anthony McGill and David Morris who all impressed with their respective results, while it was also good to see Jamie Jones reach the final day following a lean 12 months or so.

There were also welcome runs for veterans Ken Doherty and quarter-finalist Joe Swail, while Ali Carter was also a welcome semi-finalist as he continues his return to the circuit following his enforced break last month.

For now, a break in the ranking event action before the start of the Shanghai Masters on 16th September, but in between there will be further snooker being played, with a very good field lined up for the Six Red World Championship early next month.