Category: World Championship

Ronnie O’Sullivan has hit out at the officials over a controversial incident in his World Snooker Championship quarter-final against Stuart Bingham.

But the big talking point came in the 12th frame, when referee Desislava Bozhilova was trying to re-spot the black, only for it to keep rolling off.

O’Sullivan was sure that the ball was in the wrong position, because it meant he had no path through to pot a red he had played for.

After asking for black to be re-spotted, The Rocket opted against taking the pot, saying it was down to his “principles”.

“Some of the referees, I think they’ve got it in for me,” he exclusively told Eurosport. “So I just want to prove to her that she’d got it wrong.

“Then I didn’t feel good about having to pot the ball after that, but I just want to make a point. The point was made.

“I’m not that hungry to win in that way. I’m more of a principled person. So the principles been made. I can sleep at night.”

The Rocket eventually lost the frame, which lasted a marathon 47 minutes, as they closed at 8-8 after two sessions.

He is attempting to win a record eighth crown, which would move him one clear of Stephen Hendry.

Former winners Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy and Luca Brecel – who lifted the title last year – have also made early Crucible exits.

Indeed, The Rocket is the only one of the world ranked top 10 players still in the event.

And he also insists he was not bothered by having less than two hours between the afternoon and evening sessions of his match against Bingham, adding: “It doesn’t matter, it’s just a normal day for me. A bit of snooker, a bit of food, chill out.”

Speaking of the incident, Eurosport pundit Alan McManus believes O’Sullivan made the correct decision not to take on the red.

“The sportsmanship is exemplary from Ronnie and it always is the case,” he said. “He plays a safety shot there.

“But what any referee I think should do is never mind what the players think or see or feel, they can have a conflab about it on their own, you take out our ball marker and if it overlaps then it doesn’t spot. It’s definitive.

“You don’t need a ball to see if it spots, you use the width of the ball marker. Then you figure out a way to get it on because you definitively know that it spots and that’s the key to it.

“Once you know whether it does or whether it doesn’t, then you can say to the guys, ‘Look, I’ve measured it on the middle of the cross’. Because there’s an indentation, so the ball will roll in because it’s been spotted 312 times over the last couple of days.

“It’s not an easy job, it’s just the way you go about it. There are complexities to it but use the marker and have a look. It goes, that’s the first thing. Let’s find the best way of getting it on the spot.”

Jimmy White added: “When Ron first pots the black he thinks he’s on the red and he asks for the ball to be re-spotted. She re-spots it and he is a bit more where he can pot it [but] he still doesn’t believe she’s putting it right on the spot, so what happens then, eventually it goes on the spot and Ronnie can pot it.

“But he doesn’t. He goes to Stuart Bingham and Stuart Bingham says, ‘Whatever you say Ron I believe’.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan has hit out at the officials over a controversial incident in his World Snooker Championship quarter-final against Stuart Bingham.

But the big talking point came in the 12th frame, when referee Desislava Bozhilova was trying to re-spot the black, only for it to keep rolling off.

O’Sullivan was sure that the ball was in the wrong position, because it meant he had no path through to pot a red he had played for.

After asking for black to be re-spotted, The Rocket opted against taking the pot, saying it was down to his “principles”.

“Some of the referees, I think they’ve got it in for me,” he exclusively told Eurosport. “So I just want to prove to her that she’d got it wrong.

“Then I didn’t feel good about having to pot the ball after that, but I just want to make a point. The point was made.

“I’m not that hungry to win in that way. I’m more of a principled person. So the principles been made. I can sleep at night.”

The Rocket eventually lost the frame, which lasted a marathon 47 minutes, as they closed at 8-8 after two sessions.

He is attempting to win a record eighth crown, which would move him one clear of Stephen Hendry.

Former winners Mark Williams, Shaun Murphy and Luca Brecel – who lifted the title last year – have also made early Crucible exits.

Indeed, The Rocket is the only one of the world ranked top 10 players still in the event.

And he also insists he was not bothered by having less than two hours between the afternoon and evening sessions of his match against Bingham, adding: “It doesn’t matter, it’s just a normal day for me. A bit of snooker, a bit of food, chill out.”

Speaking of the incident, Eurosport pundit Alan McManus believes O’Sullivan made the correct decision not to take on the red.

“The sportsmanship is exemplary from Ronnie and it always is the case,” he said. “He plays a safety shot there.

“But what any referee I think should do is never mind what the players think or see or feel, they can have a conflab about it on their own, you take out our ball marker and if it overlaps then it doesn’t spot. It’s definitive.

“You don’t need a ball to see if it spots, you use the width of the ball marker. Then you figure out a way to get it on because you definitively know that it spots and that’s the key to it.

“Once you know whether it does or whether it doesn’t, then you can say to the guys, ‘Look, I’ve measured it on the middle of the cross’. Because there’s an indentation, so the ball will roll in because it’s been spotted 312 times over the last couple of days.

“It’s not an easy job, it’s just the way you go about it. There are complexities to it but use the marker and have a look. It goes, that’s the first thing. Let’s find the best way of getting it on the spot.”

Jimmy White added: “When Ron first pots the black he thinks he’s on the red and he asks for the ball to be re-spotted. She re-spots it and he is a bit more where he can pot it [but] he still doesn’t believe she’s putting it right on the spot, so what happens then, eventually it goes on the spot and Ronnie can pot it.

“But he doesn’t. He goes to Stuart Bingham and Stuart Bingham says, ‘Whatever you say Ron I believe’.”

Stuart Bingham hit back with two superb breaks to ensure his World Championship quarter-final with Ronnie O’Sullivan is all-square heading into the final session.

The Rocket looked destined to take a lead into Wednesday’s evening session after opening up an 8-6 advantage.

But his opponent responded with visits of 125 and 92 to level at 8-8.

O’Sullivan was far from convincing from the start of the session as he missed a black off its spot.

Bingham made the most of the chance with a break of 108 to move into the lead.

The Rocket soon responded, levelling at 5-5 despite the fact he was still failing to find his best form, missing a yellow at 26-0 ahead and then a red at 56-8.

The next frame saw further missed opportunities as Bingham could not close out from 60-0 up, and again when presented with frame ball, after O’Sullivan left a red over the pocket.

As such, the world No. 1 came back to the table and cleared up to win the frame, giving him a 6-5 lead.

The referee was asked to check it had been correctly replaced on several occasions, with the eventual positioning of the ball meaning O’Sullivan did not attempt to pot the final red.

That brought an untimely end to his break, with Bingham eventually bringing winding up a 47-minute frame as the contest headed to the mid-session interval all square.

The hiatus seemed to come at the perfect time for the seven-time champion, who was much more fluent after the re-start, notching up an excellent 79, enough to take the frame despite going in-off when sinking the blue.

He then opened up a two-frame cushion, once more taking advantage of Bingham not cashing in when being first at the table.

But the 2015 world champion hit back, accumulating an excellent 125, meaning he had a chance to level up ahead of the concluding session this evening.

And he did just that, this time compiling a terrific 92 to level at 8-8.