Snooker: Fryatt benefits from Westwood's mistakes

RONNIE O'SULLIVAN, branded "unprofessional" for playing left-handed, enjoyed the last laugh last night when he beat the local favourite, John Higgins, 9-5 before a capacity crowd to win the Scottish Open in Aberdeen.

O'Sullivan went into the final as the underdog, having lost three times to his Scottish rival this season, but he fought back from 3-2 down to win. As a result of his second title of the season, he is set to go third on the provisional world rankings behind Higgins and Stephen Hendry. It was Higgins' third defeat in a ranking final in less than five months following losses at the Grand Prix and Welsh Open.

In the run-up to the final the Scot had produced by far the better snooker, but in the final his form again deserted him. "I cannot seem to turn it on in the finals like I used to do a couple of season ago," he said. "The turning point was probably the sixth frame. I should have gone 4- 2 up instead of being 3-3."

O'Sullivan nipped the frame on the black with a 33 clearance and then made breaks of 62 and 81 to be 5-3 up after the first session.

During the interval his minder, Derek Hill, made running repairs to his cue after O'Sullivan unconventionally removed a damaged tip by biting it off.