WORLD GRAND PRIX SNOOKER 2024: RONNIE O’SULLIVAN OVERCOMES JUDD TRUMP FOR THIRD TITLE, COME FROM A 4-0 DEFENCE

At the Morningside Arena in Leicester, Ronnie O’Sullivan pulled off an incredible comeback triumph over top seed Judd Trump to win his third World Grand Prix title of his illustrious career.

In the final, the Rocket, who had defeated Ding Junhui in just 76 minutes in the round of sixteen, overcame a 4-0 deficit to show off his class on the grand stage once more and maintain his recent hot streak.

After a superb comeback, Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated Judd Trump 10-7 to win his third World Grand Prix championship.
O’Sullivan overcame a weak first few frames to establish his dominance and win the title. O’Sullivan entered the final at Leicester’s Morningside Arena having destroyed Ding Junhui in 76 minutes during his semi-final match.

The top-seeded Trump defeated Cao Yupeng in the round of sixteen to advance to his seventh Grand Prix final. Despite his strong start, the Bristolian could not match The Rocket’s nighttime prowess.

O’Sullivan, who required two snookers, was forced to fail to come to the table by a long red and a 74 break, which gave Trump the ideal start to the afternoon session by winning the opening frame.
O’Sullivan had an opportunity to take the lead in the opening exchanges after putting up a strong 62 points in the second, but The Rocket’s uncommon miss, which struck the far jaw of the middle pocket, set up his opponent for a two-frame advantage. In due course, Trump accepted the invitation, taking a brief 40-second pause to do so.

After a lengthy exchange of safety balls between the two players, the top seed was feeling confident after Trump’s incredible red to the left corner. He worked through the colours to take a 3-0 lead before a run of 59 in the fourth set sent him sailing towards victory at the midday break.
O’Sullivan didn’t score until the fifth game; in the first few sets, in-offs proved to be a source of frustration for both players.

At 38-0, the two-time champion potted a red that he had screwed in the bottom left of the cue ball, but Trump could only respond with a few more reds until O’Sullivan completed the shot to put his name on the scoreboard.
A basic miss on a red at the beginning of the sixth quarter quickly put an end to a run of 54 points, but both players missed easy one-pointers, and O’Sullivan quickly put up a 63 to cut the score in half.

In the seventh, Trump regained his composure with a break of 40. However, The Rocket’s weak stroke allowed his opponent to build on his 40 with another 61, giving him a 5-2 lead.
After both players missed in the penultimate frame of the afternoon session, which was tied at 33, O’Sullivan added one more strike to his total before the break, running 63 to pull within two at the halfway point.
Trump got off to a strong start that evening when O’Sullivan dropped a ball that The Ace in the Pack needed to open up a respectable break. He achieved this with a 66, but on frame ball he was out of position.

Trump took advantage of an O’Sullivan error on the brown to reclaim his three-frame lead at the beginning of the evening session. However, The Rocket closed the gap to two with a 56-stroke finish at the end of the tenth, and another 74 in frame eleven had him closing on Trump.
Shortly afterward, he even the score when Trump threw away a strong 57-run lead, giving O’Sullivan an opportunity to clear following the last red, which he duly accomplished to enter the half on equal terms.