Ronnie O'Sullivan reacts as David Grace gets lucky with wild fluke in huge moment at Northern Ireland Open

ByDan Quarrell

Updated 19/10/2022 at 13:56 GMT

You certainly need luck on your side if you are to challenge the greatest snooker player of all time, and that is what David Grace got with a crazy fluke at an important stage of his match with Ronnie O'Sullivan at the Northern Ireland Open. The Rocket found himself level with Grace at 2-2 in Belfast when his opponent benefited from a huge slice of luck after missing a long red.

Ronnie O'Sullivan could not believe his luck as David Grace got very lucky with a wild fluke in what was a huge moment at the Northern Ireland Open.

The match was finely poised at the start of the fifth frame with the scoreline locked at 2-2 as Grace came to the table to take on a long red that was hopeful if anything.

It turned out to be a pretty shoddy miss as the 37-year-old rammed the ball to the side of the pocket, against the side cushion.

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But as O'Sullivan appeared set to return to the table with the balls in his favour, he watched on in dismay as the red careered up the table, flicked off the green and flew into the far corner pocket, next to Grace.

It was an incredibly fortunate pot for the man from Leeds, and it turned out to be a very significant one.

Grace went on to win the frame and assume a 3-2 lead at the crucial stage in the match with O'Sullivan unable to respond.

"Oh, wow! That will help," exclaimed Philip Studd on commentary for Eurosport at the time.

Joe Johnson added: "What a fluke and what a positional shot. How expensive is that going to be?"

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It certainly changed the momentum of the match at that key stage as Grace was able to establish his lead over the seven-time world champion.

O’Sullivan says referee behaviour ‘uncalled for’ in White spat

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Stream the Northern Ireland Open and much more top snooker action live on discovery+ and eurosport.co.uk

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