Ronnie O’Sullivan won the 2012 World Snooker Championship after beating Ali Carter 18-11 in the final at the Crucible Theatre last night.

Victory gave O’Sullivan his fourth world title while defeat meant Carter had lost in his second final appearance after going down 18-8 to his fellow Englishman in the 2008 edition.

It also meant ‘The Rocket’, as O’Sullivan is known to his fans, maintained his record of never losing in a World Championship final and this year, at the age of 36, he became the oldest player to lift the trophy since Dennis Taylor in 1985.

O’Sullivan, who earlier in the tournament had, not for the first time in his career, threatened retirement beat several former champions in Peter Ebdon, Mark Williams, Neil Robertson, as well as two-times runner-up Matthew Stevens on his way to the final.

But after this convincing victory, O’Sullivan insisted he was not about to quit the sport.

“A few people doubted me but I’ll let them know when I’m not ready,” O’Sullivan told the BBC.

“I certainly haven’t gone yet. It’s been very hard to come here and stand it for 17 days,” he added.

“It’s an endurance test, the equivalent of doing an ironman. It isn’t so much the snooker, it’s about controlling your emotions and holding it together.”

Carter joined Jimmy White (six times) and Stevens as players who have appeared in more than one World Championship final without claiming the coveted title.

But getting to this year’s final was an achievement in itself for Carter. He had been suffering so badly with Crohn’s disease, the bowel condition he was diagnosed with nine years ago, he considered quitting the professional snooker circuit.