Ronnie O'Sullivan was in late-night M1 car crash with son Ronnie Jr on board, following Fina defeat to Mark Selby
Ronnie O'Sullivan was in late-night M1 car crash with son Ronnie Jr on board, following Fina defeat to Mark Selby Getty

Snooker great Ronnie O'Sullivan was involved in a late-night car smash on the M1 following his World Snooker Final defeat to Mark Selby.

O'Sullivan, 38, crashed his sports car into the central reservation of the motorway in the early hours of this morning, near Leicester in the Midlands.

It happened as he was returning home at night to Essex with six-year-old son Ronnie Jnr from the World Snooker Championship final.

Both were able to walk away from the wreckage of the car and were described as "shaken" by the high speed impact at around 1.30am

Reports indicate the high-performance motor O'Sullivan was driving slid out on control on a puddle of standing water in conditions described as "poor" by the Mirror.

Leicester is the home-town of O'Sullivan's conqueror on the night, Mark Selby.

Five times world champion O'Sullivan was beaten 18-14 in the final at Sheffield's Crucible theatre by Selby in a long and absorbing contest in which O'Sullivan took a promising early lead, only to be reined in and overhauled by Selby.