Ronnie O’Sullivan endures morning of misery in Crucible whitewash


The rest of the sporting world will now probably agree after watching one of the most amazing mornings the Crucible has ever witnessed.
Zhao – still competing as an amateur and having had to win four qualifying rounds just to earn his place at the Crucible – returned overnight tied with the seven-time world champion at 4-4 in their best-of-33 match.
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Hide AdIn less than two hours, Zhao – rebuilding his career after serving a 20-month ban for breaching betting regulations – produced a scintillating display in winning all eight frames, taking a 12-4 lead into Friday night’s third session.


The 28-year-old looked calm and assured, a clinical display – doing a ‘Ronnie O’Sullivan’ in many ways – and showing no mercy to his opponent, still adjusting to his new cue after spending several months away from competitive action.
Winning eight frames on the spin is a feat in itself, to do so against a player chasing a record eighth world title – O’Sullivan is currently tied with Stephen Hendry on seven – in front of his legions of adoring fans is quite something else.
The magnitude of the deficit will have hurt the 49-year-old – in a record-extending 14th Crucible semi-final – but not surprised him, O’Sullivan admitting to being ‘lucky’ to still be in the competition after his 13-9 quarter-final win over China’s Si Jiahui, who like Zhao lives and trains in Sheffield.
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Hide Ad“I got lucky again. I have tried to give it my best and I am just hanging in there,” said O'Sullivan, after beating Si.
“I have relied on other people to win and that doesn't feel good for me.
“I always feel better when I force the opening and put the pressure on my opponents.
“You feel a lot better when you've won the match rather than they've lost it.
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Hide Ad“Look at Judd Trump, Mark Williams and Zhao, I won't be able to get away with this standard.
“Zhao is an amazing, brilliant player, a fantastic talent who will only get better. But it takes more than talent to win this, you need steeliness.
“You are going to come up against someone really tough in the semis and final. You have got to stand up to the best players, so whether he can do that remains to be seen.
“I have struggled for the last four years and enjoyed the game less, that's why I took a break. Now I am trying to play through it see where takes me. I am just grinding it out.”
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Hide AdO’Sullivan had the tip and ferrule on his cue changed overnight, having labelled it as “awful” ahead of the last-four clash with Zhao.
But Zhao ruthlessly punished every missed pot and poor safety.
The left-hander inflicted only the fourth session whitewash of his career on a shellshocked O’Sullivan.
Zhao made breaks of 57 (twice), 112 and 82 to establish an 8-4 lead, with O’Sullivan scoring just 50 points in those four frames and recording a highest break of 23.
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Hide AdThere was no respite for O’Sullivan after the mid-session interval as Zhao made breaks of 67 and 115 to extend his lead, with O’Sullivan then missing a yellow off the spot in the next frame to allow his opponent back to the table.
Zhao needed two opportunities to take the frame and also took the last of the session with a break of 87 after O’Sullivan had inexplicably missed a simple blue to the middle pocket.
Former UK Championship winner John Virgo, commentating for the BBC, was full of praise for Zhao’s performance.
“Scintillating snooker,” Virgo said. “What a player. What a future he’s got in the game.
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Hide Ad“To do this to Ronnie O’Sullivan, it’s a phenomenal performance. Changing of the guard maybe, right here, right now.”
It is the first time since 2006 that O’Sullivan has lost all eight frames in a session.
The three previous occasions were in the second round against John Parrott in 1994, in the semi-finals against John Higgins in 1998 and again in the semis against Graeme Dott in 2006.
Zhao is looking to become the first Asian player to be crowned world champion. Fellow Chinese potter Ding Junhui came closest when he was runner-up to Mark Selby in 2016.
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Hide AdZhao – who won the UK Championship in 2021 and the German Masters in 2022 before his ban – had never previously been beyond the last 16 at the Crucible.
Zhao needed to win five more frames on Friday night to end the match a session early.