Ronnie O’Sullivan grabs PTC Event 1 title by defeating Joe Perry in final: 2011-12 Snooker Season
The start of 2011-12 Snooker Season has been tremendous for the three-time World Snooker Champion, Ronnie O’Sullivan. The Rocket took the very first Players Tour Championships (PTC) title of the season,
defeating Joe Perry 4-0 in the final on Wednesday, June 22 at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.
O’Sullivan took just 51 minutes to whitewash his opponent with his furious game-play. The 35-year-old reached the final match of the event, defeating Mike Hallett, Andy Hicks, Bjorn Hanveer, Martin
Gould, Stuart Bingham and Joe Jogia. Superb knocks of 60, 105 and 117 brought the Wordsley potter in a winning position during the match.
The Essex Exocet, O’Sullivan tumbled down to number 11 in the Word Snooker Rankings after an unconvincing performance last season. But with his victory in the first event of PTC, he has not only improved
his ranking, but has also jumped on top of PTC Order of Merit with £10,000 prize money in his pocket.
While speaking to the local media after his victory, O’Sullivan said, “My game wasn't too bad. Everyone was rusty. I'm just having a go and doing my best. This is a big season for me, I'm giving myself
one more year, or possibly two, to see if I can improve. It's a work in progress but I do feel some optimism.”
The Englishman was about to withdraw from the World Snooker Championship but he reconsidered his decision after consulting Dr Steve Peters, a sports psychiatrist, a couple of days before the event.
The player went on to add, “I'm still seeing Steve Peters. I still need help although I feel a lot better. There's tournaments all over the place now so I'm just taking it as it comes.”
In reply to a question asked about his improvement in world rankings, he said, “I don't worry about the rankings, although it's nice to be at the top. If I drop out and have to qualify then so be
it.”
O’Sullivan will now move to Australia to play the very first major ranking event there, Australian Goldfields Open 2011, running from July 18 to 24 at Bendigo Stadium in Victoria.
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