Ronnie O'Sullivan praised for incredible act of sportsmanship after 'never-before-seen' incident
Commentators couldn't believe their eyes as Ronnie O'Sullivan chose not to pot ball to put him 7-5 ahead as it was 'too easy' during the World Snooker Championship.
O'Sullivan decided to play it safe which eventually cost him a frame against Stuart Bingham who leveled the contest at 6-6 following the incident at the Snooker World Championship.
The incident occured because the ball wasn't stable in the correct position, prompting the referee to be forced to move the white, placing it in perfect range for O'Sullivan to pot the red and win the frame.
The 2010 World Champion, Neil Robertson couldn't believe what he had seen on commentary.
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"It’s such an unusual situation this, I’ve never really seen it before. It’s down to whether the black is rocking on and off the spot," he said on the BBC.
Then O'Sullivan did the unthinkable, essentially throwing the frame due to presumably thinking he was given an unfair advantage.
"He played safe even though he could pot the red. It's unbelievable.
This is probably one of the greatest bits of sportsmanship I have ever seen in any sport," Robertson stated.
"That's incredible. I've never seen anything like that before."
"I just don't feel good about it..."
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 1, 2024
Ronnie O'Sullivan shows great sportsmanship to Stuart Bingham after some doubt around a black ball respot ⚫#CazooWorldChampionship pic.twitter.com/loIxbiv6cs
1997 World Champion Ken Doherty shed more light on the situation that lead to O'Sullivan making the decision.
"The problem was the black rocked a little bit on the spot, which means Ronnie can't pot the red. Ronnie just questioned it, which he had every right to do so.
It was a tricky situation for Ronnie and the referee," he explained.
This isn't the first time there has been a brilliant example of sportsmanship in the world of snooker, as John Higgins was applauded by the Manchester crowd in April for calling a foul on himself during the Pro Tour.
Higgins brought the incident to the referee's attention during the fifth frame when he inadvertently struck the white ball twice while attempting a safety shot.
It wasn't immediately evident to those watching that Higgins had struck the white ball twice, making it a challenging foul for the referee to call.
Tom Jenkins