FINAL WORD ON THE CRUCIBLE (original) (raw)

As the 888.com World Championship recedes into memory, here are my highlights...

SHOT OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Ronnie O'Sullivan's 13th black in his 147. Forcing an angle to free one of the two remaining reds from the pink he played the perfect cannon.

SHOCK OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Although the scale of Ali Carter's defeat of Shaun Murphy surprised me, I'd go for Joe Perry's quarter-final victory over Stephen Maguire, who had been playing superbly up to this point.

CHARACTER OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Liang Wenbo was a refreshing presence for various reasons, not just his all-out attacking approach.

BREAK OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Hard to choose between the two 147s but Ali Carter just takes it because it was his first and, given his tendency to feel the pressure in the past, he held himself together brilliantly.

QUOTE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
'I played like a man with no arms' - a decidedly un-PC Dave Harold after losing to Shaun Murphy.

PERFORMANCE OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Stephen Maguire's 8-0 demolition of Neil Robertson in the first session of their second round match had to be seen to be believed, even outstripping Ronnie O'Sullivan's thrashing of Stephen Hendry.

MATCH OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Liang Wenbo v Joe Swail had it all: youth v experience, close frames, unexpected misses, controversy, premature celebrations, a deciding frame finish and recriminations afterwards. Classic stuff.

PLAYER OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Who else but the winner? Ronnie O'Sullivan, ever enigmatic, ever his own man, joined the pantheon of players to have won three world titles and provided great entertainment along the way.

Roll on 2009!