Ronnie O’Sullivan has been haunted by the magic of numbers this season. He claimed a record eighth Masters title and a record eighth UK Championship title. Rocket was one of the favorites for the World Championship, so many expected him to leave the Crucible with a record eighth title. But the magic of numbers didn’t work.
Ronnie sensationally fell in the quarterfinals of the 2024 World Cup, losing to Stuart Bingham (13:10). How did this happen?
Dramatic confrontation
There was no sign of O’Sullivan’s departure at such an early stage. In the first round, Rocket simply destroyed Jackson Page (10-1), and in the second he easily defeated Ryan Day (13-7) and reached his record 22nd world championship quarterfinal.
Bingham had a tougher road. Stewart had to reach the main draw from the third qualifying round. There, the Englishman miraculously defeated Stuart Carrington (10:9) and not without problems defeated Louis Heathcote (10:8). In the main draw, Bingham had a relatively easy match with Gary Wilson (10:5). And in the confrontation with Jack Lisowski, the 2015 world champion had to work hard (13:11).
The World Championship began with the elimination of the current winner:
The World Snooker Championship started with a sensation. The Curse of the Crucible has worked again!
It looked like playing Bingham wouldn’t be too difficult a test for O’Sullivan in the 2024 World Cup quarter-finals. But something went wrong at the start of the first session. The Rocket made many mistakes and Stewart took a 3-1 lead. The failure was clearly taking its toll on Ronnie. At one point, unable to pocket a single red, he hit the table several times with his cue in frustration. But the multiple champion managed to recover and counterattack. The billiard players went to half-time with a tied result (4:4).
In the second session, the first frame was in the hands of Bingham, but the multi-time English champion managed to not only equalize the score, but also take the lead (6-5). O’Sullivan could have increased his lead to 7:5, but an unpleasant incident occurred at the table. When Ronnie scored 29 points, he noticed that the black ball had deviated from its original position and was too close to the white ball, interfering with the shot. Rocket asked referee Desislava Bozhilova to return the ball to his spot. When the judge attempted to correct the black, he noticed that he was rolling into a small depression in the table, deviating from his correct position and covering the target.
O’Sullivan asked Bozhilova several times to replace the ball. She insisted that the black one was in the correct position, but she corrected him anyway. After several attempts, the judge refused to follow the player’s lead, which Rocket did not like. In protest, she did not keep the red and gave the frame to Bingham (6-6). The session finally ended in a draw (8:8).
This is not the first time Ronnie O’Sullivan has followed the principle:
“They don’t pay for this.” Ronnie O’Sullivan gave up a shot to reach 147 points
“I think some judges understood me. I just want to prove her wrong. I didn’t feel good at the time, but I just wanted to make my point. I didn’t want to win that way that much. I’m more of a principled person. So after this incident I can sleep peacefully at night,” Ronnie explained to Eurosport.
“Probably one of the greatest displays of sportsmanship I’ve seen in any sport,” Neil Robertson said.
“Winnings and defeats don’t matter”
There was also something to see in the afternoon session. Bingham and O’Sullivan first took turns taking frames and again went to a short break with equality (10:10). When play resumed, Ronnie argued with the referee again. He refused to play until the crowd, returning from half-time for the Kyren Wilson-John Higgins match, was seated. Bozhilova first tried to persuade Rocket to sit at the table, but in the end she hurried the audience to sit properly in the hall.
Ronnie O’Sullivan
Photo: George Wood/Getty Images
Contrary to expectations after the resumption of play, O’Sullivan was unable to challenge Bingham. Stewart took the final three frames to win the match (13:10).
“Stuart hit harder, took longer breaks and defended better. He was the best player and I was just trying to fight.
I liked the tournament. For me it was great. I really started to master the balls on the table, which is really more important than anything else. To be honest, tournaments, wins and losses don’t matter. I just want to enjoy the game, so this tournament was a big improvement for me.
I lost the game, Stewart deserved to win, he played very well. I tried to fight and endured as long as I could, but my victory was not meant to happen,” Rocket told Eurosport after the defeat.
O’Sullivan has long been motivated by something completely different:
“Snooker is in trouble.” Why the great Ronnie O’Sullivan now only plays for big money
Ronnie also reassured his fans. He has no plans to retire yet and plans to compete in several tournaments.
“I still have a lot of billiards to play. The tournaments I will participate in will be announced on a first come, first serve basis. I just want to enjoy the game.
I have a contract to participate in certain WST tournaments. I have a contract to participate in some exhibition events in China. They will be first, so if I have time to fit in other competitions, I will do it,” added Rocket.
Bingham, as expected, was delighted with his victory.
“I thought I would just enjoy the game, but at the same time something clicked in me. I played amazing the last few frames.
It’s an uphill battle. But I felt calm and enjoyed every second. I was shoulder to shoulder with the best player of all time. Looking back, it was absolutely amazing.
My record in matches with him is not very good, probably like everyone else. But as I approached the table, something suddenly clicked in me and I began to like every hit I received. I remember how I got a red when the score was 10:9. So I thought, “No, I’ll do it. This is my chance, I’ll do it. That’s how I won and made it to the semifinals,” Bingham said.
In the semi-finals, Stewart will play Jack Jones while Ronnie goes home to recover and prepare for the upcoming tournaments.
