Ronnie O'Sullivan to remain world No. 1 after Wuhan Open – 'I’ve achieved more than any other snooker player on planet'
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ByEurosport
Published 13/10/2023 at 17:09 GMT
UK champion Mark Allen must wait for another chance to topple Ronnie O'Sullivan from the top of the world rankings after he lost 5-2 to Ali Carter in the Wuhan Open quarter-finals. O'Sullivan's 5-1 loss to Lyu Haotian earlier on Friday opened the door for Allen to take over at the summit for his first time in his career, but O'Sullivan retains the coveted spot ahead of the Northern Ireland Open.
'A very important break' as O'Sullivan threatens a comeback against Haotian with century
Ronnie O'Sullivan will live to fight another tournament as world No. 1 after he was joined in losing at the Wuhan Open quarter-final stage by Mark Allen on Friday.
O'Sullivan opened the door for Allen to take over at the summit for the first time in his career by the winning the ranking event after O'Sullivan's shock 5-1 defeat by Lyu Haotian.
But world No. 3 Allen lost 5-2 to Ali Carter later in the afternoon to dash the Northern Irishman's hopes of claiming the £140,000 first prize in China.
“When I first got to number one I couldn’t believe it," O'Sullivan told reporters. "When you’ve held it for a few years, you don’t get seduced by victories, World Championship or being the world No. 1.
"When I was younger, I wanted it. When you get it, you become used to it and it is normal. It is a shame really, because you lose that hunger and desire.
"There is nothing left for me to achieve in snooker. I wish there was something for me to go for. I’ve achieved more than I could ever imagine and more than any other snooker player on the planet.
“Lyu played very well. He didn’t miss much, scored well, played good safety and potted some good pressure balls. Credit where it is due. I could have played a bit better, but I didn’t do a lot wrong.”
Allen levelled at 2-2 from 2-0 behind boosted by a 63 break in the fourth frame against German Masters champion Carter, who opened with runs of 78 and 63.
But breaks of 77, 52 and 57 secured Carter a best-of-11 frame semi-final meeting with Lyu on Saturday.
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‘What a performance’ – Trump makes ‘clinical’ century break on way to Ford win
Judd Trump – chasing back-to-back ranking event victories after winning the English Open last week – and Wu Yize contest the first semi-final in Wuhan.
Trump completed a 5-0 whitewash of Tom Ford, while Wu edged Aaron Hill 5-4 in his quarter-final.
O'Sullivan moves onto 890,000 points in first place in the world rankings after earning £16,000 for his run to the last eight, while Allen's £16,000 sees him increase his total to 791,000.
World champion Lucal Brecel opted out of the trip to Wuhan, but remains as world No. 2 on 881,500 points.
O'Sullivan returns to action against Ahmed Aly Elsayed in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open (22-29 October) at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast (live on Eurosport and discovery+) as Allen chases a third straight title triumph at his home event.
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