May 2nd 2025.
The World Championship for snooker has been an exciting event, with many fans eagerly watching to see who will come out on top. However, for Ronnie O'Sullivan, things have taken a turn for the worse. His hopes of winning the championship are now hanging by a thread, and it's all due to a risky move he made with his cue.
According to former world champion Ken Doherty, it was clear that this gamble was bound to backfire. In the semi-final match against Zhao Xintong, Ronnie found himself in a tough position as his opponent raced to a 12-4 lead. The talk of the tournament has been Ronnie's cue, specifically the tip and ferrule. At 49 years old, Ronnie has not been playing at his best and has struggled to find his rhythm throughout the past two weeks.
In a desperate attempt to turn things around, Ronnie made a significant change to his cue overnight. He went back to using a brass ferrule, even though he had previously called it "awful." But unfortunately, this change did not have the desired effect. Instead, Zhao took control of the match with ruthless efficiency, leaving Ronnie to sit in his chair for most of the session.
Despite escaping the first session with a 4-4 tie, Ronnie was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and instead found himself facing a dominant opponent. Zhao made breaks of 57, 112, and 82 to take an 8-4 lead. In contrast, Ronnie struggled to score, with a highest break of only 23 points in those four frames.
The mid-session interval did not provide any respite for Ronnie, as Zhao continued his impressive performance with breaks of 67 and 115 to extend his lead even further. In the 13th frame, Ronnie made a crucial mistake by missing a yellow off the spot, allowing Zhao to take control and ultimately win the frame. And in the final frame of the session, Ronnie missed a simple blue, which Zhao took advantage of with a break of 87.
Former UK Championship winner John Virgo, who was commentating for the BBC, praised Zhao's performance, calling it "scintillating snooker." He also mentioned that the young player has a bright future ahead of him in the game. As for Ronnie, it seems that he may be facing a changing of the guard with this defeat.
However, Doherty believes that the real issue for Ronnie was his decision to make such a significant change to his cue during such a crucial stage in the competition. He believes that Ronnie should have stuck with his original cue and not taken such a risk. Unfortunately, it seems that the gamble did not pay off, and now Ronnie's fans are left disappointed and fascinated by Zhao's incredible performance.
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