01 May 2024 , 18:04
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Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan has earned praise for the “greatest sportsmanship ever seen” after an incident during his World Championship quarter-final clash against Stuart Bingham.
The two came together at The Crucible on Wednesday gunning to reach the last four. O’Sullivan, 48, held a 6-5 lead over Bingham heading into the 12th frame.
But he opted not to take advantage of matters with a remarkable move. As he attempted to chase down Bingham's score, O’Sullivan potted the black for 29, with his opponent boasting 43.
However, he was not in a position to then pot the next red into the corner due to the black obstructing his shot once it was returned to the table. Referee Desislava Bozhilova returned the black but it kept on rolling slightly closer to the cue ball.
Its position was then adjusted, which allowed O’Sullivan to potentially pot the red when he wouldn’t have originally been able to. After a delay, he elected not to instead played a safety shot.
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That then allowed Bingham to return to the table and complete his scoring to claim the frame. O’Sullivan’s actions earned plenty of praise from those watching. 2010 world champion Neil Robertson said in commentary: "He played safe even though he could pot the red. It's unbelievable.
"This is probably one of the greatest bits of sportsmanship I have ever seen in any sport. That's incredible. I've never seen anything like that before."
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Six-time world champion Steve Davis then attempted to explain O’Sullivan’s decision. "It was an unsettling moment,” he said.
“Unfortunately for Ronnie, it became a problem. He wanted to know if the ball was on the spot and whether he could get through to the red. I think, though, the end result was that he probably couldn't pot it anyway."
Ken Doherty was also among those to give an insight into the call. He 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."
While O'Sullivan allowed Bingham to level, he then raced into a two-frame lead. The latter roared back though to level matters once more ahead of the evening session at the Crucible.
Elsewhere in the quarter-finals, Judd Trump slumped to defeat to Jak Jones in a major surprise. The latter will take on either O’Sullivan or Bingham in the final four.
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