Ronnie O'Sullivan has revealed what he said to Zhao Xintong following his crushing 2025 World Snooker Championship semi-final defeat.
O'Sullivan suffered a bruising 17-7 defeat to Chinese star Xintong, who delivered a stunning performance at the Crucible to dump the snooker legend out of this year's tournament.
The first session ended 4-4 as 'The Rocket' slammed his tip and ferrule on his cue.
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On Friday morning, Xintong, 28, battered O'Sullivan, 49, winning all eight frames as he led 12-4 ahead of the third session.
The talented left-hander notched the five frames needed to seal a 17-7 win, with a session to spare to book his place in the final against either Judd Trump or Mark Williams - making him just the second Chinese world championship finalist after Ding Junhui, who reached the final in 2016.
Despite his heavy defeat, O'Sullivan congratulated his opponent in a classy gesture.
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Speaking in his post-match presser, the seven-time world champion said he told Xintong to enjoy his moment during their warm embrace.
On Xintong, he added: "He's amazing, a great boy. It's great for the game. Fantastic for him to reach the final."
O'Sullivan, who sat out the past few months, added: "Zhao played good, he deserved his victory. I think he's done brilliantly all tournament and all credit to Zhao. He played better than me.
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"I've been awful for quite a while, those performances are in there, they've been coming out quite regularly recently.
"I'd like it to be [there], I'd just like to play alright and I just felt like I never gave him a game so that's a bit disappointing."
Xintong said: "I'm so happy. It's my first time in the final.
"I need to say a big thanks to Ronnie. He helped me so much."
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Xintong will face the winner of the other semi-final tie between Trump and Williams, which is evenly poised at 8-8 ahead of tomorrow's resumption.
Topics: Ronnie OSullivan, Snooker
Nasir Jabbar