Northern Ireland Open 2020 - 'One of the best wins of my career' - Ronnie O'Sullivan on Slessor win

ByJames Walker-Roberts

Updated 18/11/2020 at 20:05 GMT

After losing their previous two meetings, Ronnie O'Sullivan was delighted to finally get the better of Elliot Slessor. The Rocket recovered from dropping the opening frame to win 4-1 and compared the result to "beating someone like [Mark] Selby in the semi-finals of the Worlds [World Championship]".

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Ronnie O’Sullivan described his second-round win over Elliot Slessor at the Northern Ireland Open as “one of the best victories of my career”.

O’Sullivan had lost both previous meetings with the world No 58 and looked in trouble as he fell 1-0 behind in the best-of-seven match.

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But the Rocket stepped up a level and knocked in breaks of 76, 78 and 97 to secure his place in the third round.

“That’s up there with one of the best victories of my career,” he told Eurosport.

“He’s beaten me twice before, had the voodoo sign over me, seems to play fantastically well every time he plays me, and he started off really well again and I was thinking ‘here we go again, he’s going to pump me 4-1, bit more cake in the face…back up the M1, I’m going home’.

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“He obviously plays well against me and the way he started off he was just cruising round the table. I had to hopefully get a chance and he was unlucky not to go 2-0 up, left the red in the jaws, and I was able to steal one and get in the game.

Sometimes beating someone like Elliot Slessor in this tournament in that round is better than beating someone like [Mark] Selby in the semi-finals of the Worlds [World Championship] because he is up for none, you have everything to lose. Everyone on the circuit knows how good Elliot is and he can play.

O’Sullivan will next face Matthew Stevens, who won their previous encounter 4-1 at the English Open last month.

The Rocket has lost in the final of the Northern Ireland Open for the past two seasons but was pleased with his all-round performance against Slessor.

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“I was just trying to stay focused and patient and if I got a chance try and put some numbers on the board. If I didn’t get a chance try and not leave him anything too easy where he can attack me.”

O’Sullivan also had some advice for his opponent, who started brightly but dropped off after missing a couple of crucial pots.

“If he plays like he did in that first frame and a half why shouldn’t he be winning tournaments? He should be winning tournaments with that sort of stuff. Sometimes he gets a bit down on himself and a bit frustrated and this game is all about temperament.

“Players have won world titles because of their temperament, not because their talent or ability is as good as Elliot, but you need to have that temperament. It is probably the most important thing in this game. You have to stay focused.”

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