Ronnie O'Sullivan's brutal put-down of Crucible rival shows his true character right now

Ronnie O'Sullivan's brutal put-down of Crucible rival shows his true character right now Newspoint | 01/05/2025 19:39:08

Ronnie O'Sullivan was critical of Si Juahui's efforts in the quarter-finals of the , labelling the Chinese sensation as "poor". sealed his victory at 13-9 to line up a semi-final clash with Zhao Xintong.

Following the afternoon session, O'Sullivan held a comfortable lead of 10-6, but Si clawed back, nabbing three of the next four frames to close the gap to 11-9. The younger challenger, however, botched critical opportunities in the concluding two frames, allowing 'The Rocket' to surge ahead and edge closer to a record-breaking eighth title.

Nevertheless, O'Sullivan's comments after the game honed in on Si's blunders as well as critiquing his own shaky performance. "He played poor," O'Sullivan told to the , adding: "He played poor the whole match and let me off the hook loads of times. I got lucky again. He had lots of chances, I was trying everything and he let me off the hook."

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Returning from a three-month break from snooker to compete in Sheffield, O'Sullivan has consistently downplayed his prowess throughout the championship and shared a significant tweak made to his setup ahead of his latest fixture, reports .

"I'm just grinding it out," he admitted. "I had some work done on my cue today, I am playing awful and my cue feels awful but I am still here. I miss the buzz of playing well.

"I have given it my best but I am hanging in there. I would like to be playing better but I have to try and find some form at some point. I don't feel rusty, I have only been playing for a month but I just couldn't face playing."

Facing the prospect of going head-to-head with either current world No. 1 or in the final if he triumphs over Xintong in the semis, the 49-year-old acknowledged the high calibre of his potential opponents, who emerged victorious from their intense quarter-final clashes against Luca Brecel and respectively.

O'Sullivan specifically pointed out Trump's impressive performances, saying: "It gets harder, look at the way Judd is playing. I won't be able to get away with what I have done so far. I can't get any worse, put it that way."