The Rocket is the most decorated player in this format of the sport, and in Norfolk this evening, he claimed his ninth title to pull three championships clear of the great Stephen Hendry.
Ronnie has long been known as the king of the shot-clock winning the Premier League eight times between 1997 and 2008.
But last year, Murphy knocked him off his perch to claim his first. This year saw a rematch of the 2009 final, but this time there was only winner as O'Sullivan produced simply breathtaking snooker.But this wasn't just any win for Ronnie. It was a win that proves he's still the man to beat in our sport.After failing to embrace the PTC series and pulling out of this year's Shanghai Masters, Ronnie has tumbled down to eighth in the world rankings.
Murphy on the other hand topped the PTC Order of Merit and has, at times, played even better snooker than that which saw him crowned world champion in 2005.
Last night was a fine example of his return to prominence. After falling 2-0 behind in his semi-final match against Marco Fu, Shaun rattled in five consecutive frames without conceding a single point. Despite Ronnie being predictably installed as the favourite, Murphy was certainly going to be no pushover. Or was he?
In short, Ronnie made of mug of him. So much so, Murphy looked a shadow of the man we've seen with a cue this season. We know Shaun is a very strong player, but surely this heavy defeat will knock some of the stuffing out of him ahead of next week's UK Championship.
While Murphy will be disappointed not to have made a better match of this, on this form, I'm not sure any player could have stayed in touch. For Ronnie, it was pure vintage. Following on from his impressive 5-1 semi-final victory against world champion Neil Robertson last night, he looked untouchable. His break building was immaculate.
Once he was in, he didn't look like missing. He was accumulating frames at will. And that's why Ronnie is still top dog.
Well played Ronnie! A master at work!
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