28/05/12 14:06 BST
  £10 Free bet Bet Now Snooker World Champs Cycling Darts Olympics Odds
 
 SNOOKER CALENDAR

ROCKET FLIES AGAIN IN GERMANY

Click here for tournament results in full

Ronnie O'Sullivan came from behind to beat Stephen Maguire and win the German Masters in Berlin.

The former world number one, just one frame away from a first-round exit on Thursday, won Sunday's final 9-7 to land his first ranking title since September 2009.

Maguire fired three successive centuries on his way to a 5-3 lead at the Tempodrom and took the first frame of the evening session - but O'Sullivan finished strongest, rattling off five in a row to take control of the 30-year-old Scot.

O'Sullivan said: "All credit to Stephen, because he's had a great tournament.

"He's played really well and is playing as well now as when he first came on the scene and I tipped him to be the dominant player of the decade.

"He outplayed me today, I hung in there and nicked frames." The Essex man continued: "This is the best venue we play in on the tour. It used to be Wembley Conference Centre ... but it's brilliant to play here and get to the final.

"I'm 36 now and coming to the end of my career so every victory now is nice. If I can nick a tournament here or there it's great - it would be nice to go out at the top."

Prior to this tournament, the penultimate event before the rankings cut-off point to decide which 16 players get automatic places at the World Championship, O'Sullivan was 16th and in danger of missing out on automatic qualification.

However, this success means his supporters can look forward to seeing him attempt to win a fourth Crucible crown.

O'Sullivan, who reached this final despite a bout of glandular fever, looked in good touch as he cantered to the opening frame, his break of 111 a taster of the superb fare to come in this best-of-17 contest.

However, Maguire - who whitewashed Shaun Murphy and John Higgins en route to the final - pulled level in the second frame after easing to a confident 130 break, the highest of the tournament so far.

He followed up with an equally assured 106 in the third and then produced a 128 to move 3-1 ahead after finding himself snookered from the break.

'The Rocket' made a decent start in the first frame after the interval, but when he broke down on 58 Maguire stole in to move 4-1 ahead.

A scrappy sixth frame went the way of O'Sullivan before a 55 helped Maguire restore his three-frame lead, but it was the three-time world champion who had the final say at the end of a breathless afternoon's snooker, a break of 75 giving him renewed hope heading into the evening session.

Maguire won the first frame after the resumption and potted five reds and five blacks at the start of the 10th but O'Sullivan hit back with a 96 clearance to reduce the gap to two frames, then picked up the next one to trail by just one.

Maguire was in first in the 12th frame with a break of 52 but missed the yellow and O'Sullivan cleared to the pink to level the match, punching the air after doing so. It proved a key moment as he returned from the mid-session interval in inspired form, with a 67 break giving him the lead at 7-6.

Soon after it was 8-6 and he looked well placed to wrap up victory when he produced a break of 43 in the 15th frame, only to leave a black in the jaws.

Maguire, who led O'Sullivan 5-2 in last year's Welsh Open final but lost the contest 9-6, held his nerve to stem the tide and stay in the match with a clearance of 82. There was an interesting twist at the start of the 16th frame when both players agreed to a rerack before a ball had been potted - and when they were respotted the cagey nature continued until O'Sullivan produced a break of 46.

Maguire got to within 17 points of his opponent but soon found himself needing a snooker - which O'Sullivan escaped from but went in off.

However, after Maguire had missed the blue, O'Sullivan wrapped up the 16th frame, which lasted nearly 40 minutes, and the match.

Maguire pinpointed the 12th frame as decisive, saying: "I should have made it 7-5 but I played a bad positional shot and when it went 6-6 he had the rhythm - I think that was the turning point in the match.

"I've beaten some good players this week and if I'm honest I probably wasn't expecting to get to the final - but I can't look at it that way now ... I just want to jump off a bridge."

----------------------------------------------------------------
Part of 365 Media Group

Websites
Sporting Life | TEAMtalk | Sportal | Football365 | Fixtures365
Sky Sports

Partners
Cricket365 | Golf365 | Extreme365 | Planet F1 | Planet Rugby

Betting & Gaming
Betting Zone | WSOP | Sky Bet | Poker | Casino | Bingo | Oddschecker | Casino Checker | Poker Checker | Bingo Checker | Free Bets | Open Golf Betting

Mobile, Fun & Games
Free Online Games | Fantasy Football | Fantasy F1
----------------------------------------------------------------


2011-2012 Season
World Cup
Australian Open
Premier League
Shanghai Masters
Brazilian Masters
UK Championship
The Masters
World Snooker Shoot Out
German Masters
Welsh Open
World Open
PTC Finals
China Open
World Championship
2010-2011 Season
Shanghai Masters
World Open
UK Championship
Masters
Welsh Open
China Open
World Championship
Premier League
2009-2010 Season
Shanghai Masters
Grand Prix
UK Championship
Masters
Welsh Open
China Open
World Championship
Premier League
2008-2009 Season
Northern Ireland Trophy
Shanghai Masters
Royal London Watches Grand Prix
Maplin UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Welsh Open
China Open
888.com World Championship
2007-2008 Season
Roewe Shanghai Masters
Grand Prix
Northern Ireland Trophy
Maplin UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Malta Cup
Welsh Open
Beijing China Open
888.com World Championship
2006-2007 Season
Northern Ireland Trophy
Grand Prix
Travis Perkins UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Malta Cup
Welsh Open
China Open
888.com World Championship
2005-2006 Season
Northern Ireland Trophy
Grand Prix
Travis Perkins UK Championship
SAGA Insurance Masters
Malta Cup
Welsh Open
China Open
888.com World Championship
2004-2005 Season
Grand Prix
British Open
Travis Perkins UK Championship
Welsh Open
Malta Cup
Rileys Club Masters
Failte Ireland Irish Masters
China Open
Embassy World Championship
2003-2004 Season
LG Cup
British Open
Travis Perkins UK Championship
Welsh Open
The Masters
European Open
Citywest Irish Masters
Scottish Open
Embassy World Championship
2002-2003 Season
Regal Masters
LG Cup
B & H Championship
British Open
UK Championship
Regal Welsh
B & H Masters
European Open
Citywest Irish Masters
Regal Scottish
Embassy World Championship
2001-2002 Season
Champions Cup
Regal Masters
British Open
LG Cup
European Open
UK Championship
Regal Welsh
Benson & Hedges Masters
China Open
Thailand Masters
Citywest Irish Masters
Regal Scottish
Embassy World Championship
2000-2001 Season
British Open
Grand Prix
Regal Masters
Champions Cup
Benson & Hedges Championship
Liverpool Victoria UK Championship
China Open
Nations Cup
Regal Welsh
Benson & Hedges Masters
Thailand Masters
Citywest Irish Masters
Regal Scottish
Embassy World Championship