Snooker fans are all in agreement after Ronnie O’Sullivan’s incredible act of sportsmanship.
The incident occurred during O’Sullivan’s match against Stuart Bingham at the Snooker World Championship.
With the score at 6-5, O’Sullivan had the chance to go 7-5 up but chose not to pot ball to allow his opponent back in the match.
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The incident occurred 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.
Then O'Sullivan did the unthinkable, essentially throwing the frame due to presumably thinking he was given an unfair advantage.
Neil Robertson, who won the competition in 2010 said on BBC Sport: “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 played safe even though he could pot the red. It's unbelievable.”
Reacting on social media, one fan said: “Well I’ve given Ronnie plenty of stick down the years for questionable behaviour but this is complete different level in terms of sportsmanship, fair play hope he wins his 8th world now.”
Another tweeted: “Different level & a true sportsman.”
A third fan added: “He's not the GOAT just because of his ability to dazzle around the snooker table, he's the greatest because of his longevity and fantastic sportsmanship by playing the game how it should be played. A privilege to watch Ronnie O’Sullivan all these years.”
Someone else wrote: “Unbelievable sportsmanship by Ronnie O’Sullivan.”
A fifth commented: “Just seen Ronnie O’Sullivan with one of the greatest piece of sportsmanship I have ever seen in world sports.”
1997 champion Ken Doherty said: “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.”
Topics: Ronnie OSullivan, Snooker, Fan Reactions
Marcus Chan