Ronnie O'Sullivan takes a rest during the match at the 2010 World Snooker China Open held in Beijing on Wednesday. [sina.com.cn]
BEIJING - World No 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan crashed out of the World Snooker China Open on Wednesday after dramatically losing to Chinese youngster Tian Pengfei 5-3 in the first round.
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Ronnie O'Sullivan takes a rest during the match at the 2010 World Snooker China Open held in Beijing on Wednesday. [sina.com.cn]
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Down 4-3, O'Sullivan was leading 63-57 in the eighth frame with only the black ball left on the table. The three-time world champion gave a soft shot so that the black stopped right at the rim of the pocket to everybody's shock, which declared the end of his Beijing journey.
"I don't know, really. I was really shocked to see his final shot," Tian said.
"I don't know what happened to him. I felt he played too casually. Maybe he was just careless. But I was very excited to compete with him. O'Sullivan has been my idol since I was a kid."
In the most eye-catching clash of the day, Tian demonstrated impressive composure for his age facing the widely-recognized genius. He fought back from 0-2 down to clinch three frames in a row, prevailing O'Sullivan only by one point in the fourth and fifth.
Thanks to O'Sullivan's amazing mistake, Tian completed a mission impossible to the ovation from home spectators.