One of the Most Dramatic Finals | Ronnie O'Sullivan vs Steve ...

Davies is safety. Catching the blue. So that's moved the red off the black spot. Black back on its own spot. Miley got a quick bounce off that cushion. He may be OK. He can just slip past there. Into the bunch to create a potential frame winning opportunity. Despite the line of four reds on the left hand side cushion. Oh, but then! He misses a routine black from its spot. Just when he was flying. Not a certainty this red. Six. Seven. That black is deceptive. A little bit of a thinner cut than it looks. So he may not be able to just hold for the reds. Well, played a kiss and got a good one. An excellent one as a matter of fact. At least with four of them like that, if he gets a chance to go into them, they will probably be split out well for him. Still a bit to do before he comes there. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. He's just looking on that black off the spot gone by. Thirty. Thirty-one. He's speeding up a bit, Steve Davies. Quite noticeable. He wants to get on with it. Doesn't want to start thinking too much about what's in front of him here. Not the best of angles on this red to roll through for the black. Thirty-seven. Left himself an angle on the pink, but I don't think it's going to be easy to split anything out. May play for the one nearest the corner pocket. The theory was there that he might develop two reds. He might only develop one red, but he expected in doing so to be on the red nearest the pocket. Steve Davies. Forty-three. You can see the table's not running through. Played at that pace, it had to stay on track. He didn't have much room for error there. Two good shots from Steve Davies. Previous one was a great snooker. I don't think Ronnie O'Sullivan can play the same shot here. Could go wrong here. Foul, and a miss. Steve Davies, four. Well, he was trapped then, and Ronnie took a chance really. Now then, big decision. Does he put Ronnie O'Sullivan back in, or does he take this red on? Big breath out, and off to go. Well, I was just going to say, I think it's the right shot, although he missed it, but went along the cushion. Didn't quite strike that 100% clean. Didn't get a great amount of topspin on. A lot of speed on the cue ball. Thought the double, Steve Davies, eight, was the safer option. Three reds left, all the colours available. So still, anybody's frame. Well, only shots like that. Well, short apiece there. He's going for it. He's not going to turn anything down at this stage, I don't think so, anyway. Fully committed. The red slightly further out from the cushion was potable, but that one was offering him the better prospect of safety if he missed. Good red to the middle, though, from O'Sullivan. Nine. I think he's odds-on favourite to clear up here. He sounds silly at this stage. He's just in one of those moods where he just goes down, knocks the cue ball, and the ball goes in the hole. He'll go for this. Surely he's not going to play the snooker. Twenty-one. Closing in on eight all. But the green is at the other end of the table, and he's got to get from that to brown. Twenty-three. Thirty. Just blue and pink needed. Thirty-five. And so, this enthralling contest goes the distance. From eight five down, Ronnie O'Sullivan has levelled at eight all. It's all on the 17th frame. Just playing here, I think, to push the red on and leave the cue ball safe on the black cushion. Yeah, well played. Ronnie O'Sullivan appreciated that safety. The red is on along the top cushion, but dead straight. Not worth risking, particularly for no great reward. That could be a useful shot. Gave him the chance to get tied up behind the yellow. Right. He's left one on in the left centre. It looks like it's from here. It's a tricky one. Made it look easy. It's got plum on the black. Davis knows O'Sullivan is always dangerous around the black spot, whether the main bunch is open or not. Nine. He's left this thinner cut along the cushion than he intended. Sixteen. He was a bit careless. Yes, you can still take it on, but he certainly can't hold for the black, which would have been the idea. That's the best chance of calling in the puck out. Could have played something really special to spread the reds. Could have slipped past that blue that he just kissed. Could have played it in the middle. Power shot, left-handed. I don't know if he's got one at the bottom of the puck. Just couldn't get to it, just a fraction. Is it the previous shot was the problem, as Clive mentioned? So it's down the long grass for Ronnie O'Sullivan. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 22. With the kiss off the yellow, this is trouble. Foul, and a miss. Ronnie O'Sullivan, four. He can obviously put it back. He's got one on into the left centre. Miss being called. He's taken it on, hasn't he? Of course, a big shot. Yes, I think a lot of players would have this put back. Such a difficult putt, isn't that? At a moment like this, so sweetly. Well, you can understand his choice of shot. Six. Oh, what a shot that was. Thinks Davis. In his disappointment. But a much easier one. Ronnie O'Sullivan, six. Eludes O'Sullivan. Well, the putt was easier, but it was the cue ball that was causing him the problem. He had to cannon into another red. Try and hold for the black, and that can be enough of a distraction to take your eye off the putt. Was that his last chance? O'Sullivan's gone wrong again. Hope springs again into Davis' breast. He can play safe, but it's difficult to play safe creatively. Ronnie O'Sullivan, eight. Took two full minutes to decide what to do, but that was tricky. No. The deciding frame comes down to a tactical battle on the last few reds. Not a good shot from Davis. Has left the red cuttable to the middle. Although the cue ball would be careering into other balls, probably. The position was, to some extent, a matter of chance. Although O'Sullivan believed, I think, that there was a chance of leaving himself on the black. Positional putt goes wrong again. Eight. This last frame has had a few twists and turns. O'Sullivan leads by 31. A time at which O'Sullivan chose to play his worst positional shot of the day. Snookering himself on all three remaining reds. Ronnie O'Sullivan, 16. Didn't want to hit the red that side. O'Sullivan leads by 39, but he's left Davis a possible here. Yes, but the table doesn't look too inviting, does it? Two reds on cushions, and this is not a simple shot. Position not a certainty. Had to just drop it in. Leave himself an angle on the pink to go down for the red in the balk area. Bill Davis, Steve's father on the right. Greg from the left, but one. Steve Davis, eight. Made sure of the red. Made sure of the snooker. Just feathered it. Cue ball and red too close together for Davis to risk the pott to the right corner. If Davis does get a chance to pott the red, he would need at least a brown. To snatch frame and match. He'd be very pleased where the red's gone, because the safety of that is difficult. Oh, the double kiss. And it's going to prove fatal. Nine years after winning his 28th world ranking title, he came so near to winning his 29th. But now it's all over. And disappointed as the Davis family will be, let's give full credit to Ronnie O'Sullivan. He was three down with four to play, but responded brilliantly. Making greats of 118-77. A decisive 48 in the penultimate frame. And emerging from this desperately tense decider. To take the £52,000 first prize. Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the £52,000 first prize. He wins the Welsh Open for the first time. A great recovery for O'Sullivan. And a disappointing end to what was otherwise a great week for Steve Davis.