Ronnie O’Sullivan had “no complaints” after seeing his reign as world champion ended by Mark Selby tonight.
The Chigwell star, who was chasing a third successive Crucible crown and a sixth world title overall, came into the second day of the final with a 10-7 lead. But he was pegged back and then overtaken by Selby, who ran out the champion 18-14 to inflict O’Sullivan’s first world final defeat.
"I want to congratulate Mark on a fantastic tournament he's been the best player over 17 days, that was tough he had me in all sorts of trouble,” O’Sullivan told BBC Sport afterwards. “In the end I was numb as he was too strong and tough.
"The miss on the pink was big, but the black at 10-5 was more important. The match was more about safety so it was not about one missed ball. I have no complaints.
"I've never been in such a good place, I've enjoyed these last 17 days. Maybe I would have thrown in the towel a few years ago but I tried my hardest."
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