Ronnie O'Sullivan suffered a disappointing first-round exit at the Northern Ireland Open, losing 4-3 to world-ranked 110 player Ka Wai Cheung in Belfast. After a strong start from Cheung, who claimed the opening frame, O'Sullivan responded by winning the next three frames in speedy and emphatic fashion, with breaks of 56, 138 and 72 moving him 3-1 ahead.
However, the three-time NI Open finalist missed a good chance on a red in the fifth frame, and Cheung clinched it after a run of 88. Cheung's confidence grew, and he forced a deciding frame with another impressive 77. A further costly miss from O'Sullivan gave the 27-year-old the chance to advance, which he took with a break of 61.
O'Sullivan became the eighth top-16 player to lose out of the nine who have played at the Waterfront Hall so far. Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Xiao Guodong, Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter fell on Sunday, while Chris Wakelin, Barry Hawkins and O'Sullivan followed them out on Monday. The world number 13 was making his first NI Open appearance since 2022 and his first Home Nations event since the 2024 English Open.
"I'm very happy that I can still play well under pressure," said Cheung, speaking to BBC Sport NI. "Ronnie had a lot of fans. I was actually scared a little bit before the match, but this is the best experience for my snooker career." Cheung will now face the winner of Stuart Bingham and Yao Pengcheng's match for a spot in the last 16.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing