Ronnie O’Sullivan faces harsh accusation after Crucible exit | Other | Sport
Ronnie O’Sullivan crashed out of the World Snooker Championship (Image: Getty)
Ronnie O’Sullivan has been accused of not ‘putting in the graft’ after his World Snooker Championship hopes were crushed by John Higgins. Former snooker player‑turned‑pundit Alan McManus rubbed salt in the Rocket’s wounds with a ‘harsh’ assessement after O’Sullivan lost the Crucible classic.
O’Sullivan had led 6-2 after the first session but ultimately lost 13-12 after a remarkable fightback from Higgins. The seven-time champion ended the match abruptly by conceding the final frame early before swiftly exiting the theatre.
Despite O’Sullivan looking the better player for long spells, McManus criticised the seven-time Crucible champion. “Good, he should be [hurt], because he didn’t put the graft in for this tournament – I’m being harsh on him here,” he said. “The positives are that, in my opinion, he’s still got the juice to win this thing again. But that will only happen if he puts in the graft long term.”
McManus, who has previously raised doubts about O’Sullivan’s desire to keep winning after he reduced his playing schedule, suggested that the snooker icon needs to make a change if he wants to challenge in the biggest tournaments.
He added: “I’ve said it before, this game, not just his, but it has to be a lifestyle choice. You can pick and choose your moments to go away and have two or three or four months off in the summer. But when you get down to the bones of it, that is the way that it is.
”Neil Robertson had a golden period a few years ago, he slipped off the radar and he has struggled ever since. It took him time to get back to near his best and I don’t think he’s there yet.
”It’s a lifestyle choice, and it is Ronnie’s choice and that is fine. But, if he wants to win this thing again and I think we all know he does, maybe he could change one or two things going forward next year. I hope he does.”
O’Sullivan had initially had Higgins in big trouble, holding a 6-2 and later a 9-4 advantage before the four‑time Crucible champion clawed his way back into the contest and claimed the deciding frame.
The victory saw Higgins book his place in the last eight against Neil Robertson and take a positive Crucible record against O’Sullivan (4-3). The seven-time champion made a stunning revelation after the defeat, claiming he never anticipated reaching the third session.
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It was a heartbreaking session for O’Sullivan (Image: Getty)
“I’ve got to be honest with you, I had a flight booked home early this morning because I wasn’t sure if I’d get to the third session before the match started,” O’Sullivan said. “I was realistic about my chances, John’s strong, playing well, won tournaments the last couple of years.
“I haven’t been in any big matches really for two years. These games, I know it’s a different level. It’s alright beating people in the last 64, last 32, whatever, ranked 30th or 40th in the world.
“But playing the top boys under a real pressure situation, I knew it was going to kind of expose me in some sort of way. I was really shocked that I was able to make a game of it, to be honest with you. Literally, when I was 6-2 up at the first session, I said to my mate: I can’t work this one out. I felt like I played okay. 9-7 up, I thought, okay, cool, two sessions.
“One you can get a bit flukey. It’s a little bit of new territory for me again, but John played great. I tried to hang on to him. I just couldn’t get the job done. I’ll go back to Ireland, just chill there and then come back whenever I’ve got to play again.”
He struck the table in the final frame of the middle session after a missed shot, but insisted: “I wasn’t even angry. I was quite frustrated. I thought: I missed another bloody important ball. How many of these am I going to keep missing? It was a nice sort of anger.
“In the last round I thought, rather than do the hands, do it with the cue. I missed the tough ball, it was just nice just to go bang. Then within a second, it’s deleted and I’m cool as a cucumber really. I like to just get it out and it’s just done, drawn a line under it, just move forward.”
