O'Sullivan took an early lead to 3-1 but Selby hit back to draw level at the end of the opening session. It was Selby, last years winner and world number 4, who continued to apply the pressure to advance to 7-5, before O'Sullivan hit form winning three on the trot with breaks of 69, 70 and 110, to move ahead.

A scrappy sixteenth frame frame went to Selby before a tight battle for the next, which Selby looked odds on favourite to win leading 16-50 at one point, was pinched by Ronnie 'The Rocket' 51-50.

With the midnight hour approaching and the tension building, both players agreed to referee Jan Verhaas' suggestion of a re-rack in the early stages of what turned out to be the final frame. A second re-rack followed before Selby's long pot miss for a red in the 18th frame gave O'Sullivan the opportunity to wrap up victory and claim the title.

Ronnie O'Sullivan described winning the 2009 Masters with a new cue as his greatest achievement in snooker. O'Sullivan had smashed his old model in frustration during practice but, with a new cue hastily prepared by John Parris, he went all the way to the title at snooker's most prestigious invitation tournament.

"It's got to be my greatest achievement, to win it with a new cue," said the 33-year-old from Chigwell, "I wasn't seeing the potting angles as well as I was all week so I had to stay positive and hang in there. From 7-5 I was pleased with how I played."

Sunday's final result (best of 19 frames):

Ronnie O'Sullivan (Eng) 10-8 Mark Selby (Eng)

69-28 (68) 88-0 4-97 (82) 114-1 (101) 54-59 0-80 (76) 43-69 (50) 64-58 (53) 63-62 29-109 (101) 0-93 (89) 19-114 (114) 69-9 70-65 110-0 (110) 0-76 (69) 51-50 71-16 (55)