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World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan eased to a 22nd ranking title victory after a 10-5 victory over Liang Wenbo in the final of the Shanghai Masters.

O'Sullivan took a 3-1 lead into the interval of the first session before returning to move 6-3 ahead.

When the players returned for the evening session Liang briefly gave himself a glimmer of hope by matching O'Sullivan with two frames apiece to make it 8-5 before the Englishman closed out victory in just under four and a half hours.

"I'm very happy to have won the tournament and got my season off to a good start," said O'Sullivan.

"It was a tough match, I struggled with my technique and I wasn't hitting the ball sweetly.

"In spells I played okay but for most of it I had to battle to get through.

"I would have loved to entertain and play open snooker as that was the kind of game I was expecting but it got slow and there were some drawn out frames so it was hard to build any momentum.

"I was hanging on, trying to stay in there and not give anything away, and wait for some form to come along.

"I was only able to play flamboyant snooker in two or three frames. The rest of it was steady, hard, match snooker and I needed patience."

The world number one paid tribute to his opponent for giving him a tough examination.

"You think you've got him in trouble and you'll get back to the table and then he's pots a difficult ball - and he pots so many of them - and you have to stay in your seat, so you can get frustrated," he added.

"It's very satisfying to get a victory, especially here in China where snooker is so popular. It's a good feeling."

O'Sullivan had to rely on all his experience and tactical ability to claim his third title and the £55,000 first prize.

The 33-year-old from Chigwell ended a spell of 13 months without a ranking title as he moved a step closer to Steve Davis' total of 28, although he remains 14 short of Stephen Hendry's record haul.

Liang, trailing 6-3 going into the evening session, won the first frame after the resumption with breaks of 28 and 35 only for O'Sullivan to restore his three-frame cushion with a superb 109.

However, the world number one saw a final pink bounce out of the jaws of the middle pocket in the next and Liang finished off to make it 7-5.

O'Sullivan won the 13th frame with a break of 56, followed up with a 69 in the next and five minutes later secured victory with a 71.