Ronnie O'Sullivan v Judd Trump: UK Championship's greatest finals

Ronnie O'Sullivan and Judd Trump face each other in their first ranking final

The 2014 UK Championship final saw the grand master Ronnie O'Sullivan take on the young pretender Judd Trump as the duo competed for the trophy and £150,000 prize money.

The 39-year-old O'Sullivan has seen an upturn in fortunes in recent years, with his resurgence in form coinciding with Trump's arrival on scene in 2011.

O'Sullivan started working with psychologist Steve Peters in April that year, a month before Trump lost to John Higgins in the World final at the Crucible.

Lifestyle: Judd Trump's Christian Louboutin Rollerboy Spikes retail at about £900

"I have had a new lease of life since 2011," said O'Sullivan, who famously walked out of this tournament in 2006 saying he had "had enough". He later apologised.

"I have had four great years playing snooker and hopefully it can continue. I have started playing better as I get older so hopefully I can play for another five, possibly 10 years. I never would have thought that four years ago.

"If I can keep fit and can continue to compete then it is not a bad way to spend your life."

Ominous signs for his opponents.

'The Rocket' has won five world, five Masters and four UK titles so a victory on Sunday gave him a fifth career Triple Crown. Put into context, only eight other players have ever won a single Triple Crown during their careers.

O'Sullivan may have limped through this tournament with a broken ankle suffered while running, yet his form on the table has been anything but.

Routine victories over Daniel Wells, Peter Lines and Ben Woollaston was followed by the flawless 6-0 quarter-final win over Matthew Selt, before overcoming tests against Anthony McGill and Bingham.

His motivation to be the undoubted best player to pick up a cue is greater than ever. He stroked in his 13th career maximum 147 break against Selt, while he now needs just seven more 100s to surpass Stephen Hendry's record of 775 career centuries.

Victory against Trump saw him clinch his 27th ranking title, leaving him one behind Steve Davis and nine behind Hendry.

Meanwhile, Bristol's Trump was tipped to be the new O'Sullivan of the baize after his breakthrough year, in which he won the China Open, UK Championship and reached the World Championship final.

But things haven't worked out that way, with question marks raised over his commitment to the sport.

"Snooker is about confidence," Trump said after his win over Scotland's Fraser Patrick in the last 32. "I have put the work in a lot more than I have done in the past and that is purely because of the lack of results.

"I felt I had stayed still and the others around me had improved. I had to improve my safety [play]."

He bought a Ferrari with his winnings from this competition three years ago when he beat Mark Allen 10-8 in a high-class final, describing his style as "naughty snooker" with his attacking play and audacious potting.

Trump was partying in Marbella on Sunday 4 May, the first day of the World Championship final after going out in the quarter-finals to Neil Robertson, and may have still been in the competition had he not lost the last five frames after being 11-8 in front.

After that match, he was criticised for failing to acknowledge the Aussie's 100th century of the season, dismissing his opponent's feat as something "which meant nothing to him".

Having claimed just two ranking events since his UK win, the 25-year-old seems to have turned a corner this season, picking up the Australian Open in July.

He received a walkover in his first match in York after Chinese opponent Rouzi Maimaiti failed to obtain a visa, before overcoming Aditya Mehta, Fraser Patrick, Rod Lawler and Mark Davis by losing just eight frames and survived a Maguire comeback in the semi-final.

Trump surpassed a milestone of 300 centuries in this tournament, and his 38 tons this campaign is the most by any player.

Despite an epic comeback against O'Sullivan in the 2014 final, he fell just short of winning his second UK crown.

Classic UK Championship finals

This tournament is regarded as the second most prestigious after the World Championship. O'Sullivan and Trump's first meeting in a ranking event final has all the ingredients to be a classic. But will it surpass these memorable matches?

1984: Steve Davis 16-8 Alex Higgins

This was the first year in which the UK Championship became a ranking event. Snooker's pin-up boy of the '80s Davis was up against the super-talented Higgins - often flawed by his heavy drinking. Davis came out an easy winner to collect £20,000 and the first of his six UK titles - more than any other player

1990: Stephen Hendry 16-15 Steve Davis

A repeat of the 1989 final which finished 16-12 to Hendry, who was fast deposing Davis from his previously untouchable throne. This was a closer encounter but the Scot prevailed once again to pocket the top prize money which had rocketed to £110,000. Hendry played in 10 UK finals, winning five

1993: Ronnie O'Sullivan 10-6 Stephen Hendry

O'Sullivan emerged on the scene to win the first ranking title of his career against Hendry, becoming youngest winner of a ranking event at the age of 17 years 358 days. The following day 'The Rocket' took his trophy to his father in prison, who had been jailed for murder the previous year

2010: John Higgins 10-9 Mark Williams

Higgins produced a stunning fight back to beat Williams on a final frame decider. The Welshman looked set for victory at 9-7 up, but the Scot had other ideas, winning his 22nd ranking title, a month after his suspension for failing to report a match-fixing approach came to an end