'Decidedly unimpressed' - Ronnie O'Sullivan halts play mid-break due to crowd disturbance at UK Championship

Published 03/12/2021 at 14:41 GMT

“There’s a lot of people either coming in or going out,” Dave Hendon said on Eurosport commentary as Ronnie O'Sullivan returned to his seat due to a crowd disturbance. “O’Sullivan is going to wait until everyone has taken their seats. “The spectators are entitled to go out, but Ronnie is going to wait and he looks decidedly unimpressed with it all."

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Ronnie O’Sullivan is known for his pace of play, but his break in the fourth frame of his quarter-final of the UK Championship with Kyren Wilson will not win records for its speed after he elected to sit down mid-break due to a disturbance in the crowd.

Most of the spectators at the Barbican want to watch O’Sullivan, but in a two-table scenario not all eyes were on the Rocket.

On table two, Luca Brecel won a 40-minute frame against Anthony McGill - after which some in the crowd headed for refreshments.

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They did not know O’Sullivan was in the middle of a break, but the disturbance prompted the seven-time UK Championship winner to halt his progress and return to his seat.

It’s fair to say he looked decidedly unhappy, and remonstrated with referee Jan Verhaas at one point.

There was little Verhaas could do - he’s in charge of what happens on the table - as a frustrated O’Sullivan muttered away to himself while holding his drink.

“There’s a lot of people either coming in or going out,” Dave Hendon said on Eurosport commentary. “O’Sullivan is going to wait until everyone has taken their seats.

“The spectators are entitled to go out, but Ronnie is going to wait and he looks decidedly unimpressed with it all.

“He’s talking to Jan, but it has nothing to do with Jan - he’s not head of security.”

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Neal Foulds added: “He does not want to let this bother him, it is not helping him. The shaking his head is not going to do him any favours. He needs to get his concentration back.”

O’Sullivan eventually resumed his break and the distraction did not put him off his stride as he knocked in a break of 115 to level his quarter final with Wilson at 2-2.

In the studio at the interval, Jimmy White said: "It can be off-putting, especially if someone is in the line of your shot. It just shows how composed he is, as he got down and knocked a fairly difficult red in."