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Ronnie O'Sullivan makes history with 19th 'triple crown' title

Ronnie O’Sullivan has staked his claim as snooker’s greatest of all time after making history with his 19th ‘triple crown’ title.

The 43-year-old won a record-breaking seventh UK Championship with a 10-6 win over Mark Allen on Monday (AEDT).

He has now moved ahead of Stephen Hendry with 19 triumphs in the ‘triple crown’ tournaments – the World Championship, UK Championship and the Masters.

“History is fantastic. It’s amazing, I can’t believe it,” O’Sullivan told the BBC.

“I played very well today, but I still had to convince myself because that is how hard it felt. It’s great to create history, great to beat Steve Davis’s record.

“It’s amazing to beat my hero, Stephen Hendry’s record. He was the ultimate player. I’ve still got eight world titles to get, so I’m chasing that one.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan has made history with his 19th ‘triple crown’ title. Pic: Getty
Ronnie O’Sullivan has made history with his 19th ‘triple crown’ title. Pic: Getty

Coming 26 years after he first won the UK title as a teenager, O’Sullivan – who became snooker’s first £10 million man in September – will pocket £170,000 (AU$300,000) for the victory.

The Englishman, who needed a final-frame decider to beat Ken Doherty in round two, put his troubles aside to hit stellar form against Allen in the final.

At one point O’Sullivan won six frames in succession, punishing a number of Allen mistakes in separate frames.

He remains two ranking titles behind Hendry’s overall record of 36, while he could regain the world No.1 ranking over the next month.

O’Sullivan stuns fans with ‘near-impossible’ shot

In his match against Ken Doherty, O’Sullivan was leading 2-1 and winning the fourth frame by 34 points.

However, he was faced with an extremely difficult pot on the blue to continue his charge towards victory.

The blue was tucked right up against the cushion, not very close to any of the pockets.

But O’Sullivan managed to pull a stunning shot out of his bag.

He cut the blue ball so finely that it eased its way straight down the cushion and into the lower left pocket.

He also left the cue ball in perfect position for a shot on the pink.

Even considering the greatness of O’Sullivan, fans couldn’t believe what they’d seen.

The Daily Star described it as a ‘near-impossible’ pot, while others said it was the shot of the tournament so far.