Ronnie O’Sullivan earns praise for touching act of respect after John Higgins loss

Seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has been praised for his behaviour following his epic 13–12 defeat to John Higgins in the second round of the 2026 World Snooker Championship.

The pair, who have 11 world titles between them, put on a truly entertaining spectacle at the Crucible, with four-time champion Higgins — who won the title in 1998, 2007, 2009 and 2011 — recovering from 8–3 and 9–4 down to reach the quarter-finals.

Higgins will face either Neil Robertson or Chris Wakelin, while O’Sullivan will go back to the drawing board as he waits for an eighth world title.

Fans waded in, with many dubbing the match one of the best they had ever seen, while others spotted what O’Sullivan did in the moments before his defeat was confirmed.

The 50-year-old stood up to concede, which is seen as a gesture of respect and a signal that a player believes they have lost the frame, despite balls still remaining on the table.

One fan said: “That was one of the best sessions of snooker I’ve possibly ever watched. Unreal from John Higgins. Absolute respect to Ronnie O’Sullivan for standing up immediately to concede. The Wizard, baby!”

Another commented: “Good game, but Higgins will not win this tournament. It’s a shame that Ronnie lost. Ronnie is the main man of snooker, and the tournament is now less attractive for the neutral crowd.”

A third wrote: “Have to give credit to Higgins — he played really well today. IMO, Ronnie lost the match yesterday with all the uncharacteristic misses when he was so close to winning each frame (and should have started today 11–5 up instead of 9–7). I had a feeling that John would then go on to win.”

Shortly after his defeat, O’Sullivan backed Higgins to go on and win the tournament, admitting that the Scot was deserving of his victory.

“John played well and deserved his win,” he said.

“He’s got a chance of winning the championship if he keeps playing like he did in that session.

“I went into the pack and left myself a difficult red in that final frame, but I probably wasn’t the better player over the match anyway.

“I feel like I am enjoying my game and am in a better place this month than I have been for a few years, but I just missed too many key balls.

“There was pressure out there and I got a bit tight — and maybe that was because I haven’t won a tournament in two and a half years or competed in those types of matches for a while.

“It’s a bit of new territory for me, and I just have to be grateful for what I’ve got and build on it.”