RONNIE O'SULLIVAN denied Alain Robidoux his best-ever Christmas present when he captured the German snooker Open in Osnabruck last night.

O'Sullivan failed to reproduce his irresistible form of the earlier rounds but still managed to secure a 9-7 triumph.

But it was touch and go for the English sensation, who had dropped only four frames in four rounds to reach a sell-out final.

A runaway victory seemed likely as O'Sullivan clinched all but three of the opening 10 frames. But Robidoux recovered to draw level at 7-7. A tight 15th frame went to O'Sullivan, who then finished off with his sixth century of the championship to claim the £40,000 first prize.