This came after a 6-4 loss to Barry Hawkins, who reeled off in four consecutive frames to regain a 4-2 deficit and earn his third career victory over O'Sullivan in 21 matches. .
It was a remarkable comeback by the 45-year-old, who scored four consecutive half-centuries and kept his storied opponent sitting for three frames in a row.
Recommended books:
“Barry played a good game and I think he deserved the win, so I have to give him all the credit,” a clearly disappointed O'Sullivan said shortly after.
“He looked strong and took his chances. He's fine and he's pretty used to it. He just has to roll with it. That's the reality.”
O'Sullivan made a stylish start establishing a 3-1 interval lead with a double century break and looked set to extend his dominant record against his rival, who had not won since the 2016 World Championships. Ta.
There was no sign of O'Sullivan's impending death when he scored a long red in the first frame, but with a break of 128 he began to take emphatically.
But the top-seeded Hawkins was unable to punish Hawkins, who missed the pink to middle in the next set, and a break of 57 was enough for the Kent State man to tie the match at one point apiece. Proven.
Hawkins missed two chances in the next stand-up by falling back, but O'Sullivan hit his second century of 114 and went into the interval with an eerie 3-1 advantage.
Hawkins rallied within just one frame, but when he missed an easy red at No. 17 in the next frame, any still slim chance of pulling off a very rare upset seemed to disappear.
Instead, the turning point was O'Sullivan's display of rage as he slammed his fist on the table after missing a red to the middle early in the seventh frame.
A clear 73 by Hawkins closed the gap again, and subsequent breaks of 75 and 88 completed a dramatic turnaround without a response, bringing Hawkins to the brink of victory.
Hawkins used all his experience to extend his run with a 60-point break in the next match, but when O'Sullivan failed to capitalize on the chance when his opponent was out of position, his title was lost. The defense is almost over.
“It’s been eight years since I beat him, so it’s a big win for me,” Hawkins said. “I’ve been in this position against him so many times and I’ve crumbled, but today I didn’t crumble.
“I'm so proud of myself for standing up and doing things the way I did. Hopefully I'll be more confident. If a win like this doesn't give me confidence, I don't know what's wrong with me. .”
A dramatic opening session of the Championship concluded with Sean Murphy scoring six against former champion Qiao Xintong, who is looking to return after a two-year ban for his indirect involvement in the match-fixing scandal. We won by 5.
Murphy opened up a 3-0 lead, but was pinned down by the Chinese star. Murphy forced his way through four qualifying rounds and threatened extra time before the Sheffield man had a chance in the decider.
Murphy then suggested that his recent coaching deal with famously combative former world champion Peter Ebdon may have given him the strength to get over the line.
“Maybe I've gotten a little softer over the last few years,” Murphy said. “I think after all these years I probably forgot that there is a world of gladiators outside of the pit.
“I may have gotten a little classier over the last few years, but that's not the case anymore. Working with Peter has changed things.”
