In the 1996–97 season, O'Sullivan won two ranking titles: the Asian Classic by narrowly defeating Brian Morgan 9–8 in the final, and the German Open by defeating Alain Robidoux 9–7 in the final. O'Sullivan again reached the final of the Charity Challenge, where he faced Stephen Hendry in a first-to-nine frame match. O'Sullivan trailed 2–8 before winning six frames in a row to level at 8–8, before Hendry won the deciding frame with a maximum break. At the Masters, O'Sullivan reached his third consecutive final, where he faced Steve Davis. After O'Sullivan took the first two frames with back-to-back century breaks of 116 and 113, the third frame was disrupted by a streaker, Lianne Croft. Davis later stated that the streaking incident affected O'Sullivan's concentration, allowing him back into the match and the afternoon session ended all-square at 4–4. O'Sullivan began the evening session by winning four frames in 49 minutes to take an 8–4 lead, but Davis fought back to win the next six frames and clinch the title with a 10–8 victory. On 21 April 1997, while playing Mick Price in the first round of the World Championship, O'Sullivan made the fastest ever competitive maximum break in just over five minutes—averaging under nine seconds per shot. This was also O'Sullivan's first maximum break in professional competition. He exited the World Championship in the second round, losing 12–13 against Darren Morgan. O'Sullivan also won the non-ranking European League, defeating Hendry 10–8 in the final.