Ronnie O’Sullivan came from behind to beat Stephen Maguire and win the German Masters in Berlin late Sunday.

The former world number one, just one frame away from a first-round exit last Thursday, won the final 9-7 to land his first ranking title since September 2009.

Maguire fired three successive centuries on his way to a 5-3 lead at the Tempodrom and took the first frame of the evening session but O’Sullivan finished strongest, rattling off five in a row to take control of the 30-year-old Scot.

Prior to this tournament, the penultimate event before the rankings cut-off point to decide which 16 players get automatic places at the World Championship, O’Sullivan was 16th and in danger of missing out on automatic qualification.

However, this success means his supporters can look forward to seeing him attempt to win a fourth Crucible crown.

O’Sullivan said afterwards: “All credit to Stephen, because he’s had a great tournament. He’s played really well and is playing as well now as when he first came on the scene and I tipped him to be the dominant player of the decade.

“He outplayed me but I hung in there and nicked frames.

“I’m 36 and coming to the end of my career so every victory now is nice.”