Snooker Championship League Winners' Group 2016: Thursday Results and Reaction
Judd Trump beat Ronnie O'Sullivan 3-2 in the final of the 2016 Snooker Championship League on Thursday, overturning a one-frame deficit to walk away with the title.
The Juddernaut produced some of his finest snooker when it mattered the most, handing O'Sullivan his first loss in a major final in 2016.
With the World Grand Prix and Players Championship right around the corner, Trump couldn't have asked for a better start to the month of March, and he'll be looking to take his hot form into those two events and the upcoming World Championship.
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Here are the full results from the last day of the 2016 Championship League:
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3-2 | Matthew Selt |
| Judd Trump | 3-1 | Ali Carter |
| Mark Selby | 3-0 | Mark Williams |
| Matthew Selt | 3-1 | Stephen Maguire |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3-2 | Ali Carter |
| Mark Selby | 3-2 | Judd Trump |
| Matthew Selt | 3-2 | Judd Trump |
| Ali Carter | 3-2 | Stephen Maguire |
| Mark Williams | 3-0 | Ronnie O'Sullivan |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan | 3-0 | Matthew Selt |
| Judd Trump | 3-2 | Mark Williams |
| Judd Trump | 3-2 | Ronnie O'Sullivan |
The final group standings, courtesy of Live Snooker:
Recap
As shared by World Snooker, O'Sullivan has been in sensational form in 2016, and he entered the final day of competition as the clear favourite for the title:
The Rocket faced Matthew Selt twice on Thursday, beating him in a decider in the winners' stage and setting up a semi-final meeting after beating Ali Carter.
Selt beat Stephen Maguire in his final match to qualify for the semi-finals, but he barely saw the table against O'Sullivan, who flew to a quick 2-0 lead with some impressive break-building and positional shots.
Selt took the lead in the third frame, but some poor safety play saw the Rocker return to the table and clean up. As shared by Snooker Room, this pink was a key shot:
After the match, Selt had nothing but praise for O'Sullivan and his fast-paced style:
Trump qualified for the final by beating Mark Williams in a decider thanks to a 92 clearance in the final frame. The two worked with wide-open tables throughout their match, leading to some high breaks, but Williams couldn't match the Juddernaut for safety play.
A break of 86 saw Trump take a quick lead in the final, but the Rocket answered right back, notching yet another century, per Live Snooker:
He followed that up with a fantastic break of 119, moving within a single frame of the title. Trump pulled out all of the stops to level, winning the fourth frame thanks to a clever pot off the side cushion, and in the final frame, he produced some strong safety play to edge out a win.
Per Live Snooker, Trump believes the lack of audience and fast-paced nature of the Championship League is perfectly suited for his playing style:
He's still the only player to win the tournament more than once, having won the Championship League three times in his young career.
Trump hasn't been in fantastic form so far in 2016, as the 26-year-old has failed to progress past the quarter-final stage of any of the majors and bowed out of the Masters in the semi-final. He'll defend his World Grand Prix title later this month before starting his preparation for the World Championship.
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