O'Sullivan retains Snooker World Championship crown

Ronnie O'Sullivan retained snooker's World Championship title with an 18-12 win over Barry Hawkins at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre on Monday. O'Sullivan's victory saw him become the first player to mount a successful title defence since Stephen Hendry in 1996 and gave the 37-year-old his fifth world championship in total. His latest World Championship was all the more impressive as O'Sullivan had effectively taken a year out from the sport since his 2012 Crucible triumph. Fans' favourite O'Sullivan said during this year's edition that he was only playing to pay his son's overdue school fees and, not for the first time, threatened to retire from snooker. 'The Rocket' started Monday's final session 15-10 ahead, needing just three more frames for victory and having already compiled six century breaks -- a record for a Crucible final. But maiden finalist Hawkins kept his fellow Englishman waiting by taking the first two frames of the evening session before a trio of 50-plus breaks saw O'Sullivan, widely regarded as snooker's most naturally talented player, to the title. From: AFP