Ronnie O'Sullivan took an incredible 10th Premier League Snooker title with a thrilling performance in front of a sell-out Potters crowd on Sunday night.

The Rocket's 7-1 victory over China's Ding Junhui was his seventh in eight years as Hopton-on-Sea packed out snooker's top non-ranking event.

'Ding didn't play as well as he could but the balls didn't really run for him and I was able to make things count,' said a delighted O'Sullivan. 'I nicked a few frames and Ding got a kick – I was expecting him to keep coming at me and I knew then I needed to raise my game; I needed to find some better form from somewhere.

'Ding started to find some rhythm and he's a dangerous player – 7-1 was well flattering. But I managed to pot a few long ones and sometimes you have to stick in and be patient, and hopefully this can be a springboard for things to come.'

O'Sullivan managed to avoid the late call that almost saw him miss the start of his semi-final on Saturday night – and a tidy break of 52 sewed up the opener despite Ding getting in early.

The Rocket got lucky in the second, almost fouling the pink and not leaving a single red as he tried to develop the pack with a loose shot. But he returned with an ominous 92 to prove his sharpness.

Two became three in quick-fire fashion. O'Sullivan's sweet long red promised much before he missed the black and scattered the reds. The Rocket was lucky not to leave anything on again – and once more Ding was wayward, leaving chances when he missed.

That was proving to be the difference as O'Sullivan took advantage with 56 and Ding continued to look unsettled, missing a poor red and mucking up his best chance to gain one of the snookers he needed.

A sublime brown opened the fourth as the Rocket's groove deepened, while Ding's failure on a thin blue summed up his troubled start.

The man from China regrouped with a hard-working 42, but O'Sullivan was relentless – a long red punishing a slightly loose safety to pinch the frame from under Ding's nose and make it 4-0.

O'Sullivan's error on a spotted black as he seemingly marched ever closer to a possible whitewash brought gasps from the Hopton crowd, and this time Ding did make the most of his chance on a tricky table, racking up 45 to get on the board heading into the interval.

If Ding thought his luck had changed, the sixth taught him a painful lesson as a huge kick with three reds remaining left O'Sullivan to clear in style.

A lead of 61-0 still was not enough for Ding in the next as O'Sullivan confidently cleared, before a seamless 77 earned him a 7-1 victory to roars from the crowd.

Almost 1,800 snooker fans packed out Potters over the Premier League play-offs weekend – the fourth time Hopton's International Arena has hosted the event and O'Sullivan's third win in Norfolk.