Ronnie O'Sullivan - 2008 Premier League
Ronnie O'Sullivan hailed his PartyPoker.com Premier League Snooker victory as a fantastic achievement. O'Sullivan has now won the tournament for five consecutive seasons and eight in total after a 7-2 victory over Mark Selby in the final at the Potters Leisure Resort in Hopton-on-Sea, Norfolk.
'I'm coming to the end of my career as I'm 33 now so I want to make the most of it when I can,' said O'Sullivan, who collects £75,000 from the competition.
'To beat someone of Mark's calibre and quality is fantastic for me. He's coming after me so I just want to keep him at bay for as long as I can. It's just good to win as in a lot of games I feel that I have to win.
'I was happy with my form and was scoring among the balls and as it's the final, that's when your want to produce your best snooker. The Premier League is such a great tournament and the (25-second) shot clock can get you to do some strange things.'
O'Sullivan, who has now won the Premier League eight times, dominated the first five frames as breaks of 93, 62, 83 and 62 helped him to a 5-0 lead. However, the sixth, which lasted 40 minutes, went Selby’s way as he stole the frame by two points when O’Sullivan had looked in great position. Selby hoped that could be a turning point but O’Sullivan raced to a 105 break in the next and was now one from victory.
An 84 from Selby brought him within four frames and opened up the prospect of a memorable fightback but that dream died as O’Sullivan's break of 74 saw him clinch the title.
'I'm obviously disappointed not to win the tournament but only a couple of months ago I was playing in the qualifier at Crondon Park to get here,' added Selby. 'To get to play someone like Ronnie in the final is a dream come true. If someone had offered me the chance of getting to the final and playing Ronnie I would've bitten their hand off.'
| Date | Match | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 1930 |
Mark Selby v Ding Junhui Ronnie O'Sullivan v John Higgins. |
4-2 3-3 |
Grimsby Auditorium |
| September 18 1930 |
John Higgins v Ding Junhui Ronnie O'Sullivan v Joe Perry |
3-3 2-4 |
The Anvil, Basingstoke |
| September 25 1930 |
Joe Perry v Steve Davis Mark Selby v Stephen Hendry |
4-2 5-1 |
Assembly Rooms, Derby |
| October 9 1930 |
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Ding Junhui Mark Selby v Steve Davis |
6-0 6-0 |
Malvern Theatre, Gt. Malvern |
| October 23 1930 |
Stephen Hendry v Joe Perry Ronnie O'Sullivan v Steve Davis |
1-5 6-0 |
Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth |
| October 30 1930 |
Stephen Hendry v John Higgins Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby |
4-2 3-3 |
Institute of Sport, Sheffield |
| November 6 1930 |
Joe Perry v Ding Junhui Steve Davis v Stephen Hendry |
2-4 1-5 |
Newport Centre, Newport |
| November 13 1930 |
Steve Davis v Ding Junhui Mark Selby v John Higgins |
2-4 4-2 |
Dolphin Leisure Centre, Haywards Heath, W.Sussex |
| November 20 1930 |
John Higgins v Joe Perry Ronnie O'Sullivan v Stephen Hendry |
2-4 3-3 |
Sands Centre, Carlisle |
| November 27 1800 |
Mark Selby v Joe Perry Stephen Hendry v Ding Junhui Steve Davis v John Higgins |
3-3 3-3 3-3 |
Glades Arena, Kidderminster | December 6 1900 |
Mark Selby v Stephen Hendry Ronnie O'Sullivan v Joe Perry |
5-0 5-4 |
Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton on Sea, Norfolk |
| December 7 1930 |
Ronnie O'Sullivan v Mark Selby | 7-2 | Potters Leisure Resort, Hopton on Sea, Norfolk |
| Player | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | '100' | £Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Selby | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 29,000 |
| Joe Perry | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 25,000 |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 25,000 |
| Stephen Hendry | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 18,000 |
| Ding Junhui | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 19,000 |
| John Higgins | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 16,000 |
| Steve Davis | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 8,000 |
All matches start at 1930, except Nov 27 which is at 1800.
To purchase tickets for all matches please click on this link: Pemier League Snooker
The top four players at the end of the league stage progress to the play-offs.
2pts for a win, 1pt for a draw.
If points are level then most frames won, then least frames lost. Top four qualify for the play-offs.
If two players have an identical record then the result in their match will determine their positions. If that ended 3-3 then the player who got to three first will be higher.
Champion: £50,000
Runner-Up: £25,000
Losing Semi-Finalists: £12,500 each
There will be a bonus fund of £1,000 per frame won during the round-robin section, making a total of £126,000 available.
In addition, there will be a ‘Double Your Money’ bonus for century breaks made throughout the tournament which means that any frames won with a 100-plus break will result in a £2,000 payout in the round-robin section and a £1,000 bonus in the Play-Offs.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
| 2008 - Ronnie O'Sullivan bt M.Selby 7-2 | 1997 - Ronnie O'Sullivan bt S.Hendry 10-8 |
| 2007 - Ronnie O'Sullivan bt J.Higgins 7-4 | 1996 - Ken Doherty bt S.Davis 10-5 |
| 2006 - Ronnie O'Sullivan bt J.White 7-0 | 1995 - Stephen Hendry bt K.Doherty 10-2 |
| 2005 - Ronnie O'Sullivan bt S.Hendry 6-0 | 1994 - Stephen Hendry bt J.Parrott 10-7 |
| 2004 - Stephen Hendry bt J.Higgins 9-6 | 1993 - Jimmy White bt A.McManus 10-7 |
| 2003 - Marco Fu bt M.Williams 9-5 | 1992 - Stephen Hendry bt S.Davis 9-2 |
| 2002 - Ronnie O'Sullivan bt J.Higgins 9-4 | 1991 - Stephen Hendry |
| 2001 - Ronnie O'Sullivan bt S.Hendry 9-7 | 1990 - Steve Davis |
| 2000 - Stephen Hendry bt M.Williams 9-5 | 1989 - Steve Davis |
| 1999 - John Higgins bt J.White 9-4 | 1988 - Steve Davis bt D.Taylor 10-7 |
| 1998 - Ken Doherty bt J.White 10-2 | 1987 - Steve Davis |
