September 17th 2023.
Ronnie O'Sullivan has won his fourth Shanghai Masters title in a row, beating Luca Brecel 11-9 in a thrilling final on Sunday. Both players had plotted their way to the final and it certainly lived up to the hype. It was rare to see the Rocket, and seven-time world champion, be the more circumspect player on display, as Brecel went for nearly every pot in the entire match, showing his immense talent.
The tournament had been on hiatus since 2019 due to the pandemic, and the last time O'Sullivan had lost in Shanghai was a shock defeat to Michael Holt in 2016. This may not have been a ranking event, but the top two in the rankings proved why they deserved those spots, while O'Sullivan got a measure of revenge on Brecel for their World Championship quarter-final defeat in April.
Both players profited from the event, with O'Sullivan receiving a £210,000 prize, and Brecel a £105,000 prize for finishing runner-up. O'Sullivan had even gone as far as to proclaim Brecel as his favourite player to watch before the final.
The first session saw Brecel make breaks of 134, 103, 98, and 75, but O'Sullivan was still leading 6-4 at the end of it. However, the Rocket had only managed two breaks over 50, and Brecel stole the 10th frame when O'Sullivan went in-off on the final yellow, evening the score at 7-7 at the start of the second session.
O'Sullivan then made a spectacular comeback, bursting into life with breaks of 143 and 120, allowing him one frame from victory at 10-7. Brecel kept his chances alive with an 83 break, but it was the Rocket who took the 20th frame and the trophy.
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