Ronnie O'Sullivan once let 'pitch invader' take shot at the black in major tournament

Ronnie O'Sullivan once let a fan take a shot for him after she managed to get past security at a major tournament.

With seven world titles to his name, O'Sullivan will go down in history as one of the greatest snooker players of all time.

Nicknamed The Rocket, the 49-year-old topped the rankings on five separate occasions between 2002 and 2024.

Back in 2017, during his match against Zhang Yong at the English Open, O'Sullivan beat his opponent 4-1 in a routine victory to secure his spot in the fourth round of the tournament.

As he finished up the game to progress to the round of 16, a woman somehow got past security and approached the table.

The woman was seen wearing a red bag as she made her way to the table, with the referee trying to usher her away.

Despite the distraction, O'Sullivan still managed to concentrate as he potted the pink.

At this point, The Rocket decided to hand the fan his cue and let her attempt to pot the black.

However, her skills weren't up to standard and she fluffed her lines the first time around, as Ronnie watched on with a big grin on his face.

Not content with one shot, she followed it up by trying to pot again with a second effort but was again unsuccessful. You can watch the footage below.

What a way to end the tie... 😂@ronnieo147 gets a helping hand as he books his place in the last 16 of the #EnglishOpen pic.twitter.com/KCNGh7z5fw

— Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) October 19, 2017

Speaking about the whole bizarre situation after the game, O'Sullivan said: "I didn't know what she was doing first. But she said to me I'm just having a jog. I said to her 'well go on then have a jog then'.

"'And you might as well have a shot while you're at it'. I really wanted her to pot it."

At this year's World Snooker Championship, O'Sullivan is set to take on rival Ali Carter at the Crucible on Tuesday afternoon.

When asked about facing Carter, O'Sullivan simply said: "It's fine."