O'Sullivan win ends turmoil

Ronnie O'Sullivan was on top of the world here yesterday after capturing the first major title of the season with a 7-5 win over the world No 1 Mark Williams to take the Champions Cup.

Ronnie O'Sullivan was on top of the world here yesterday after capturing the first major title of the season with a 7-5 win over the world No 1 Mark Williams to take the Champions Cup.

It was a memorable win for the 24-year-old whose participation in the tournament had been in doubt over the summer after he spent time in the Priory Clinic diagnosed with depression.

"I feel very emotional," said the world No 4 who reached the final after beating the seven-times world champion, Stephen Hendry in the semis.

"I was still enjoying it even when I was 4-1 down because I hadn't done much wrong," added O'Sullivan who will aim for another win at next month's British Open - the first ranking tournament of the season.

"I have been through a lot of stuff in the last couple of months. But I've got my life back in order now.

"The public will see a different side of me from now on. At 24 I've started my life again. In the past I've been on a treadmill of turmoil but I am going to soak up this victory and enjoy it."

O'Sullivan certainly appears to have the beating of Williams. He has won eight of their 11 meetings including a 9-1 victory when they last met in a major final at the Scottish Open last April.

Williams, unbeaten in his first four matches, looked capable of redressing the balance when he shrugged off a stomach bug to capture four of the first five frames.

He did so with breaks of 67, 77, 54, 51 and 78 before O'Sullivan launched a comeback in typical fashion. He won the next two frames making breaks of 51, 78 and 95 without Williams potting a ball. The eighth was a scrappier affair but O'Sullivan eventually took that, and added the ninth, recovering from 45-0 down.

Williams obtained parity at 5-5, missed a red with the rest in frame 11 leading 27-0 and lost it to a break of 77 before O'Sullivan wrapped up proceedings with a quick-fire 91.

"I hardly slept on Saturday night because I was so ill," Williams said. "I knew I had to get to the loo pretty quickly at the interval.

"But I'm not making excuses. I lost to the better player. I'm disappointed but this week has been a good stepping stone for the rest of the season," he said.