O'Sullivan beats Murphy to retain Shanghai Masters crown

Ronnie O'Sullivan has now won 14 of the 19 matches he has played against Shaun Murphy

Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Shanghai Masters for a third year in a row with an 11-9 victory over Shaun Murphy.

The pair split the 10-frame opening session as the lead went back and forth.

A break of 111 in frame 13 put Murphy 7-6 up, but 43-year-old O'Sullivan then rattled off four in a row, including two centuries, to move within one.

Murphy, 37, threatened to take it to a final frame but a break of 86 from the five-time World Champion did the job.

The title in the non-ranking event was the 72nd of O'Sullivan's career and first of the new season. He remains second in the world rankings behind current World Champion Judd Trump.