O'Brien lets Masters title slip away

Fergal O’Brien is this morning coming to terms with allowing the Benson & Hedges Masters title slip through his fingers.

In an enthralling Wembley final that went into the early hours the Irishman lost out to England’s Paul Hunter 10-9.

Hunter came back remarkably to take the £175,000 sterling first prize but O’Brien will be regretting missed chances in the final and deciding frame that handed the title to the Yorkshireman.

O’Brien failed to become the first Irishman to win the tournament since Denis Taylor did so in 1987 despite leading 5-1, 6-2 and 7-3 at various stages in the match.

But Hunter was resilient and scored four centuries in the next six frames - taking a 9-8 lead.

This time it was O’Brien’s turn to dig into his reserves and to his credit the world number nine levelled the scores at 9-9 and sent the match into a deciding frame.

In an intense 46-minute final frame both players showed nerves and missed chances they would ordinarily snap up.

And it was O’Brien who looked to be in command when Hunter - a semi-final winner over six-time Masters champion Stephen Hendry - twice failed to escape a snooker on the green giving away a free ball.

With the table at his mercy O'Brien took the blue (a straightforward pot) as his option but missed. Hunter stood fast, gratefully accepted his reprieve and potted green to pink for the match and the biggest cheque of his career.

O'Brien had to settle for £88,000 after coming within touching distance of the title.

"I had chances in the deciding frame but couldn't take them. You come to tournaments to win them but I've still not had a bad week," the Dubliner said after the match.

"I would love to have won this title but there's always next year." Additional reporting by PA