- Ronnie O’Sullivan progressed to the quarter-finals of the Saudi Arabia Masters
- He came from behind to win but was not happy at all with his performance
- The winner of the inaugural tournament will receive £500,000 in prize money
Ronnie O’Sullivan was in no mood to celebrate despite reaching the quarter-finals of the first-ever Saudi Arabia Masters on Wednesday.
Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan, 48, faced China’s Zhang Anda and lost the opening three frames in the race to six to leave himself with an uphill task.
But he recovered to pull the match back to 3-3, and despite falling behind again at 5-4, he won the last two frames to seal a tense 6-5 victory.
The last-16 clash went right to the wire before O’Sullivan eventually came through, but he was more concerned with his performance and refused to pull any punches in his post-match analysis.
‘The way I’ve been playing, it’s no fun for me,’ he said. ‘I just want to play well for seven, eight or nine matches on the bounce.’
Ronni O’Sullivan came from behind to win at the Saudi Arabia Masters on Wednesday
He is still in the hunt to win £500,000, but said afterwards that snooker is ‘no fun for me’
O’Sullivan edged past China’s Zhang Anda (pictured) in a deciding frame, but was not happy with his performance
O’Sullivan was in a downbeat mood, but he remains in the hunt for the £500,000 winner’s cheque. This is the same figure that the winner of this year’s world championship, Kyren Wilson, received back in May.
O’Sullivan is not the only snooker star who hasn’t been enjoying himself in the Middle East this week, despite the eyewatering prize money on offer.
Fellow Brit Matthew Selt quit mid-match against China’s Pang Junxu on Tuesday after reacting angrily to missing a shot.
Selt was losing 4-3 when he slapped at a red ball following his miscued shot, causing him to forfeit the frame and therefore the match.
Selt was clearly aware of the consequences of his actions as he immediately turned to his opponent and offered him a handshake.
There was more controversy in Jeddah on the same day when Ding Junhui was punished for a never-before-seen foul in his final-frame defeat by Stuart Bingham.
Ding went to take a shot when trying to pot the black and was left confused when the top of his cue snapped off and hit a red ball.
The bizarre incident was quickly penalised by referee Olivier Marteel, who told Ding to retreat back to the players’ area to fix his cue.
Matthew Selt quit mid-match after lashing out a red ball off the back of missing this attempt to pot the black ball
Ding Junhui was penalised on the same day as Selt’s meltdown after the tip of his cue snapped off and hit a red ball
Former world No1 Ding appeared astounded by the decision, with Marteel left explaining to him why he had been penalised.
‘The tip hit another ball after hitting this ball,’ Martell said.
‘It hit a red. It just jumped on the bed of the table and then on to a red, so it’s a foul.
‘Yes, I’m sure that your tip hit the red. Junhui, I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.’
Bingham would later return to the table to win the final frame and book his place in the next round, but was beaten in his following match by three-time world champion Mark Williams on Wednesday.
