LONDON • Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan won a record seventh Masters title after beating Joe Perry 10-7 at London's Alexandra Palace on Sunday.

Victory saw O'Sullivan surpass the record of six Masters titles he had shared previously with Stephen Hendry.

The five-time world champion may have been both the fans' and the bookmakers' favourite, but the 41-year-old still had to come from 1-4 down to defeat Perry.

"Joe played a brilliant tournament, a really good match and he should've beaten me, I got lucky - I stole it," O'Sullivan told the BBC.

"Joe will come again and he is a tough competitor. I'm just relieved to have got over the line. The fans have been unbelievable."

As for setting a new Masters record, O'Sullivan added: "It is great to get some records, I still have the World Championship one to get (Hendry holds the modern era record of seven world titles).

"When I was younger I was happy to win one, so to win seven, someone up there is looking after me."

Perry was proud at proving he could still be a force in the game after appearing in his first final of a "Triple Crown" event - the World Championship, the UK Championship and the Masters - at age 42.

"I've proved a lot, that there is still some life left in me and it has given me the belief to go on and win a big one," said Perry.

"I got Ronnie on a good day really. At 4-1 up I got a bit carried away and it was not until I was 4-8 down I thought, 'I'm going for it'."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE