"If Ronnie O'Sullivan starts winning the scrappy frames, it's going to be a long afternoon for Barry Hawkins," says John Parrott.

Indeed.

Down goes the green and Hawkins needs snookers.

Lovely double on the brown to make the frame absolutely safe.

Hawkins does make an error though, pushing the boat out by going for a long red and leaving it on for O'Sullivan.

Two reds remaining and they are both in the open. Hawkins sits in his chair fearing the worst.

Four reds remaining on the table, this is a crucial period in the match now. Hawkins cannot afford to make any mistake.

O'Sullivan is dominating this final as he seeks a record-equalling sixth title.

The Rocket gave a statement of intent in the third frame, with a break of 136 to go 2-1 up. You can relive that run again here.

Oh, hello. An unexpected miss from O'Sullivan, rattling a red in the jaws having only scored 28 points.

Hawkins is at the table again but hasn't got pin-point control of the cueball. He has to take it up and down the table and trust to luck for position.

Goodness me, O'Sullivan has smashed in a beauty. A red which was tight on the right-hand cushion looked in no danger at all, but this is The Rocket we are talking about.

He gets down and nonchalantly strokes it in and off he goes again, gliding round the table. 

Just not happening for Hawkins, running out of position too often, you can't keep pulling out the shots when in trouble. Just 25 for the Hawks.

Poor safety from Hawkins, but O'Sullivan can't take the red. A rare miss.

OK Barry, a chance to put some points together. The black is out of commission though. He's going to have to take blues and pinks.

Paul Battison
BBC Sport at Alexandra Palace

At the Palm Court entrance of Alexandra Palace, some of the snooker circuit's most prized trophies are on display. 

Among them is the Welsh Open trophy (top-left) and of course the World Championship title (middle). 

Ronnie O'Sullivan breaks off in the sixth frame and leaves a red hanging for Barry Hawkins to take down. Once again, just the solitary point as he has to play safe.

John Parrott
1991 world champion

Image source, PA

"O'Sullivan has really exacting standards and he does not like to play lower than his high standards. He is hitting the ball pretty well now." 

A 49 from O'Sullivan wins him the fifth frame. Trouble for Hawkins now. At worst he'll be hoping to get out of this session at 5-3 down now. Three more frames to play.

O'Sullivan makes the game look so easy at times, screwing back with minimum effort to land plum on a juicy red cherry.

Even when he drifts out of position, he can pull a rabbit out of a hat with a long red. His long potting all week has been on point.

Hawkins looks like someone's pinched his wallet and mobile phone from his pocket. He's not a happy man.

This safety battle is huge in the context of this game. Hawkins needs to win the frame to close the deficit but if O'Sullivan wins it, he's three ahead and he won't look back from there.

Oh my, an under hit safety from Hawkins - by a massive margin - leaves O'Sullivan a nice starter.

Only 20, only 20. He won't be happy with that, an attempt at opening the pack went wrong and he missed the subsequent red.

Hawkins can't capitalise.

Barry Hawkins, one.

Nope, it looks like there's some tension on his cue stroke, Hawkins is not pushing it through with confidence and misses a mid-range red with just 27 on the board.

O'Sullivan sniffing an opportunity to go further in front. He licks his lips and he's off and running. How many will he score?

O'Sullivan catches the yellow with a safety attempt and Hawkins knocks in a nice red. Come on now Barry, keep it together.

All the reds are out in the open. He cleared up from this position against Judd Trump in the semi-final yesterday, but the final is a different kettle of fish.

As ever at the end of an event, you get a look at our compilation for shot of the tournament.

You can have a look at the stunning shots here

Hawkins gets us back under way. A better break this time. 

John Parrott and John Virgo in the commentary box now.