Ronnie O'Sullivan: 'I didn’t come to equal Stephen Hendry’s record, I came to play snooker'

Ronnie O'Sullivan said he never thought about equalling Stephen Hendry's Crucible record, saying he 'just came to play snooker.'

O'Sullivan equalled the Scotsman's record by winning his seventh world title on Monday, closing out an 18-13 win over Judd Trump.

It concluded another brilliant performance from the 45-year-old in a tournament that produced more century breaks than any other in World Championships history.

O'Sullivan, though, claims the record was never on his mind.

"I didn't really feel like the favourite to win," O'Sullivan said. "I doubted myself a little bit, so to finally get a result like I did is special.

"I've grown up with Judd, we've shared a lot of time on the practice tables so to hear the words he said to me afterwards, I didn't realise what that meant to him. It was nice to hear I was part of his development and it was a special moment - he choked me up."

"Honestly, it (the record) has never been something on my mind. I didn't come here to equal Stephen Hendry's record, I came here to play snooker and to be honest I found it very, very tough."

Trump fought back valiantly in the penultimate session of the final, but he was unable to sustain that charge against arguably the best front-runner in snooker.

He left in philosophical mood, though and backed O'Sullivan to go on and break the record for most world titles.

"I tried my best to get back into it but I left it a little bit too late," said Trump. "I gave it my all and I knew it was going to be tough, but I didn't get the start I needed.

"I'm just proud of how I managed to get through a couple of tough battles not being at my best. From looking like a disappointing tournament at the start I managed to turn it into a bit of a positive one.

"It wouldn't surprise me if [Ronnie] goes out and beats the record now. The level he's played, apart from Mark Williams he was different class to everyone in this tournament and it only ever looked like there was going to be one winner."