Fans in disbelief at Ronnie O'Sullivan shot during first frame of 6-0 defeat to Mark Selby

Ronnie O'Sullivan produced one of his more unconventional shots in the opening frame of his Players Championship quarter-final clash against Mark Selby.

'The Rocket' had an evening to forget at the Telford International Centre on Thursday as his impressive 16-match winning run came to an abrupt end.

O'Sullivan, who hadn't lost in 103 days prior to this evening's match against world number five Selby, didn't get off to the best of starts.

In fact, after going 12-0 down in the opening frame, the 48-year-old decided to smash the cue ball into a cluster of reds to avoid a foul.

It came after referee Desislava Bozhilova failed to warn O'Sullivan following a second missed attempt when he could see one side of a red.

Bozhilova realised her error and apologised to both players before telling O'Sullivan he would forfeit the frame if he did not hit a red with his next shot.

Selby took advantage of the open table with a break of 17 before taking the first set, but the big talking point was O'Sullivan's shot selection at 12 down.

Here's how fans on social media reacted to the shot.

One said: "This is the moment Ronnie sabotaged the match, he couldn't be bothered and Selby knew it and took advantage."

A second wrote: "Why are people cheering and clapping?" while a third commented: "Gave up on that frame."

A fourth added: "Body language from Ronnie before a ball was hit tonight looked awful, I said to my son Ronnie doesn't want to be out there."

O'Sullivan was unable to match Selby in the early stages and was 4-0 down at the interval as his opponent recorded breaks of 65, 91, 81 and 105.

Stephen Hendry hailed Selby's performance at the break, saying: "If you add to the stats his 100 per cent safety success, he [Selby] is pretty much unplayable when he plays like this. He really is.

"He missed a red in the first frame, another red in frame two, but basically he's been flawless.

"He's stamped his authority on this match early and he's kept his foot down."

Selby went on to win the next two frames to secure his place in the semi-final, where he will face John Higgins or Zhang Anda.

Speaking to ITV4 after his win, Selby said: "To beat Ronnie in any tournament by any scoreline is a great victory but to do it in the way I did - the safety was good, the long game was good, I was very, very pleased.

"The biggest thing for me is when I'm not winning, I tinker, but what I am doing now is what I need to be doing, whether I win or lose."