Ronnie O’Sullivan bemoans ‘awful’ performance after crashing out of the World Championship as he falls short in his bid for a record eighth title

• Ronnie O’Sullivan was bidding to become the first player to win eight world titles
• He fell short as he was thrashed 17-7 by Zhao Xintong in the semi-finals 

By SAM BROOKES

Ronnie O’Sullivan had no complaints after being thrashed by China’s rising star Zhao Xintong in their World Championship semi-final.

Having been tied at 4-4 overnight, Zhao dominated Thursday’s opening session, winning all eight frames to move into a 12-4 lead.

He then kept his cool in the evening to complete an emphatic 17-7 victory, sealing his place in the final with a session to spare.

O’Sullivan had come through three matches to reach the last four after four months away from snooker to protect his mental health, but he could not keep pace with Zhao, and admitted afterwards that he had simply not played well enough to compete.

‘Zhao played good, he deserved his victory,’ O’Sullivan told BBC Four.

‘I think he’s done brilliantly all tournament and all credit to Zhao. He played better than me.’

Ronnie O’Sullivan suffered a heavy defeat in his World Championship semi-final

He admitted he played an ‘awful’ match as he was beaten 17-7 by Zhao Xintong

O’Sullivan conceded Zhao fully deserved his victory after dominating Friday’s action

Reflecting on his struggles in the morning session, the seven-time world champion added: ‘I’ve been awful for quite a while, those performances are in there, they’ve been coming out quite regularly recently.’

Having taken time away from the game, O’Sullivan received a big reception from the Crucible crowd throughout the tournament, but the 49-year-old hinted that his below-par performances had led to him finding it difficult to enjoy his run to the semi-finals.

On his desire to play, O’Sullivan said: ‘I’d like it to be [there], I’d just like to play alright and I just felt like I never gave him a game so that’s a bit disappointing.’

O’Sullivan remains level on seven world titles with Stephen Hendry. He last won the tournament in 2022 and was hoping to move past the Scottish great this year.

But he rarely looked comfortable in Sheffield as he changed his cue and fiddled with the tip during matches.

He failed to find the winning formula, and will now have to watch the final from home, with Zhao set to face either Judd Trump or Mark Williams, who are currently locked at 8-8 in their semi-final. 

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Ronnie O’Sullivan bemoans ‘awful’ performance after crashing out of the World Championship as he falls short in his bid for a record eighth title

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