Ronnie O’Sullivan has quit snooker’s Championship League after cutting a frustrated figure during the tournament.
The Rocket, who begins the defence of his Masters crown when he takes on Wizard of Wishaw John Higgins on January 12, had been enduring a difficult tournament – losing to Chris Wakelin, Mark Selby and world champion Kyren Wilson, before lashing out at the table with his foot during his victory over Welshman Jak Jones on the opening day of competition. But things took an even worse turn as he returned to action, as his frustration once again got the better of him in a clash with Robert Milkins.
O’Sullivan smashed his cue off the table in the fourth frame after missing a routine pink while leading 2-1, before going on to lose the frame and a best of five decider. He quickly apologised to the referee and opponent Milkins, with commentator Dave Hendon saying: “That was a concern [that O’Sullivan had an easy pot] but it’s not happened. The cue has taken a bit of punishment there. He’s apologising now to the referee and Rob Milkins. Just a rush of blood [to the head].”
But it proved more than just a small blip for the seven time world champion and during the fifth frame, he could be seen paying barely any attention to the balls on the table. Instead, he opted to fire the cue ball into a crowded area before storming back to his seat without checking where his shot ended up.
On his final outburst, Hendon added: “Well, he’s [O’Sullivan] literally just whacked them. He’s given up I think.” The commentator later confirmed the Rocket’s withdrawal adding: “Ronnie O’Sullivan we saw earlier was clearly getting frustrated against Robert Milkins. He has made the decision to withdraw from the tournament so he won’t be playing his last match against Ali Carter.”
The match with Carter would’ve been a rematch of last year’s Masters final, after which the two players clashed – with O’Sullivan firing an X-rated blast at his opponent, saying: “He needs to sort his f****** life out. I’m not going to skirt around it any more, tip-toeing on eggshells around someone like that. He’s a f****** nightmare. Playing snooker against someone like that is a nightmare. He’s not a nice person. It’s not a nice vibe he leaves around the table.”