Ronnie O'Sullivan was hit by a bit of karma, as he missed one of the easiest shots of his career less than 24 hours after he embarrassed other players.
After beating Ding Junhui in the World Championship second round on Sunday, O'Sullivan claimed the young players in this generation were no better than amateurs and said he'd have to 'lose and arm and a leg' to fall outside the world's top 50. The win set up a quarter final match with fellow legend Mark Williams.
Five time world champion 'Rocket Ronnie' was hit by some almost instant karma as he shanked a shot in the first frame and missed absolutely everything in the process.
The Englishman was already 70-0 down against his Welsh opponent in the opening frame after Williams had put together a break of 70, going on to win the frame after Ronnie's mistake.
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O'Sullivan was soon level after a break of 101 and then went ahead for the first time in the third frame. However it was 2018 world champ Williams who took a lead into the break.
The 45-year-old rattled off five frames in-a-row, including breaks of 56, 72 and 130, to take a 6-2 lead into play on Tuesday, when they resume their match.
O'Sullivan's interview on Sunday, which received a mixed reaction from snooker fans, was hardly the first time he's done something controversial.
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He chose not to go for a 147 break in one tournament to make a point about how poor the bonus was for the maximum, shoulder barged Ali Carter at the World Championship two years ago and in the past has criticised both the sport and venues it's been played at, amongst other things.
O'Sullivan hasn't been to the final of the World Championship since 2014 and hasn't won it since 2013. If he were to come back against three time champ Williams then he's still got a long way to go to win a sixth world title.
Either he or Williams will face either three time world champion Mark Selby or world number two, and former world champion, Neil Robertson.
Featured Image Credit: BBC SportTopics: Ronnie O'Sullivan, snooker
