Ronnie O'Sullivan has won his fourth World Snooker Championship title at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, beating a resurgent Ali Carter 18-11 in the final. O'Sullivan lead from the first session and never looked back on his way to lifting the trophy.

Ronnie O'Sullivan Wins Fourth World Snooker Championship Title

Ronnie O'Sullivan has proved his critics wrong and played some of the best snooker of his career as he beat fellow Essex player Ali Carter 18-11 to lift the World Snooker Championship trophy for the fourth time.

Ever since beating China Open champion Peter Ebdon 10-4 in the first round, O'Sullivan was always going to be the man to beat. Strong performances followed for him to beat two more World Champions Mark Williams 13-6 and Neil Robertson 13-10 and then Matthew Stevens 17-10 to set up the final with Ali Carter who came through 17-12 against Stephen Maguire.

Ever since the first frame of the final O'Sullivan held the lead against his fellow Essex professional and top breaks of 141, 117 and 101 and a marvellous 61 in the final frame complete the victory for the Rocket to lift the world title for the fourth time a 18-11 victor.

Ever since beating Maguire in the final of the German Masters O'Sullivan looks to be playing back to near his very best and thanks to sports psychologist Dr Steve Peters he now has the mental agility to match his majestic skills on the green baize.

Ronnie O'Sullivan

Speaking after the match O'Sullivan was quick to compliment his opponent 'I want to congratulate Ali on a brilliant tournament, he hasn’t had the best of seasons but he has come good once again.'

'I just think I played with a bit more fluency, I tried to stay patient. Apart from one session I felt I was in control for the whole tournament. I tried not to be critical of things when they didn't go well and keep playing it shot by shot.'

'I never doubted myself that I couldn’t win another tournament at 36 but to win another world title I wasn’t sure, so to do that is a fantastic feeling.'

On the subject of his work with Dr Peters 'I owe everything to him, if I was Man City I would go buy him! He's not a psychologist, he is an expert scientist on how the brain works. I've always loved snooker, I live and breathe the game but when I’m not playing I go home and can be a nightmare to be around sometimes so I’m glad I have him on my side.'

O'Sullivan was watched by his son Ronnie Jr througout the final and he was by his side when he recieved the trophy 'I never thought I was going to get an opportunity to share the moments with him. He loves snooker, I try to get him away from it but he's having none of it!'

'To have him here watching me it was emotional as I felt it was just me and him in the arena, I felt a massive connection with him, its the best feeling I have ever had in my life.'

He also recently hinted at retirement but put those claims down 'I've had a lot to think about recently, I’m not saying that I have retired. My family have become the most important thing in my life. I'm prepared to work as hard as anyone but I feel me and the top players need to be treated fairly.'

'Its up to the governing body to treat the players right and say 'we don't expect players to travel to 28 tournaments a year.' But come up with a money list so its fairer to all players. Even if there wasn't any ranking points for the PTCs I would still go to some of them, I just don't like the feeling of being forced to play in certain events.'

'I'm not going to hang around for another two years before things become fair or what I believe to be fair. They have a chance to sort things out. I've made plans I’m not making any knee-jerk reactions, i'm going to take a good 4,5,6 months out and I’m going to look at the situation and see how I feel.'

Ronnie O'Sullivan Betfred.com World Snooker Champion 2012