Higgins ends O’Sullivan’s bid for eighth world snooker title in final-frame thriller

Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted he got what he deserved after seeing his bid for a record-breaking eighth Crucible crown shattered by a stunning comeback from John Higgins while Marc Selby branded the playing surface “horrific” after a 13-11 defeat by China’s Wu Yize.

O’Sullivan twice led by five frames but lost six in a row across the final two sessions, and Higgins fired three centuries on Monday before holding his nerve to get over the line in the decider and complete a memorable 13-12 win.

Four-time champion Selby drew on his years of experience to push 22-year-old Wu all the way but expressed his frustration afterwards, saying: “I felt like the conditions were the worst I’ve experienced here at the World Championship, for sure.”

O’Sullivan shrugged off his loss and revealed he had booked a flight back to his base in Ireland for Monday morning having been so convinced before their high-profile showdown that he was set to lose the match with a session to spare.

Frustration for Ronnie O’Sullivan during the match. Photograph: Nigel French/PA

“I’ve got to be honest with you, I had a flight booked home early this morning because I wasn’t sure if I’d get to the third session before the match started,” said O’Sullivan, who has played sporadically on the circuit this season.

“I was realistic about my chances. I haven’t been in any big matches for two years. Playing the top boys in a real pressure situation now, I knew it was going to kind of expose me in some sort of way. I was really shocked that I was able to make a game of it, to be honest with you.”

Remarkably, it was Higgins who had looked more likely to exit the tournament without the need for a Monday session, after looking distinctly out of sorts in the early stages, trailing 8-3 then 9-4 and looking bereft of his usual battling qualities.

But he forced a rare show of frustration from O’Sullivan as he chipped back to a 9-7 overnight deficit, and turned on the style in the final session by firing three centuries en route to completing one of the most memorable wins of his career.

“It’s got to be up there,” said Higgins. “I’m just delighted I came to the party in the third session, because after the first two sessions, how I was only 9-7 behind, I’ll never know. Ronnie was by far the better player.

“The atmosphere was incredible. I’ll be honest, the ovation we got walking in there, it threw me. I just felt like I was like a rabbit in the headlights a little bit, and I think Ronnie could thrive off that and just settled down straight away.”

O’Sullivan’s chances of regaining the ascendency on Morning afternoon took an early hit when he broke down on a mid-range red in the opening frame and Higgins showed he was up for the fight by taking the frame with a break of 58.

Successive centuries shunted the Scot in front for the first time at 10-9, but O’Sullivan slugged straight back with a coolly-dispatched 62 to haul level, before a brilliant 93 with the black out of commission suggested the favourite was back on course for victory.

Higgins responded with his third century of the session and the pair split breaks in excess of 80 to set up a nerve-racking decider. Both had early chances but it was Higgins who grasped his at the second attempt to record a famous win.

O’Sullivan insisted he was “shocked” to have taken it to the brink, adding: “When I was 6-2 up after the first session, I said to my mate ‘I can’t work this out’. I felt like I played OK, and 9-7 up after two sessions, I thought, ‘OK, cool’.

“But John played great today and I tried to hang onto him. I just couldn’t get the job done. I had a chance in the last and was probably a little bit unlucky going into the pack. I left myself a difficult red and I missed. What can you do?”

Selby had compiled a match-best 95 to keep himself in with a chance at 12-10, but it was clear that neither player was scoring at their best, while the normally free-scoring Wu did not muster a half-century on Monday until the chiselled-out 53 that finally got him over the line.

“It’s not the reason I lost that match, but it’s disappointing to come to a tournament that is the pinnacle of our sport and think the conditions are going to play really well and they’re not,” Selby added.

“In my first game against Jak Jones I felt like the table was absolutely horrific. It was tough. I know they (the table-fitters) did the best job possible, but something needs to happen because it’s so inconsistent from one tournament to the next.”

Despite his often unorthodox shot choice – highlighted by an outrageous plant off two cushions during Sunday’s session – Selby believes his opponent, who faces either Judd Trump or Hossein Vafaei next – has a shot at lifting the Crucible crown.

“He’s great for our game, he’s great to watch and very, very attacking,” Selby added. “Some of the balls he took on against me, I’m not sure they were the right shot, but they were going in. He’s still young and loving the game.

“I think he’s a world champion in the making. Who knows? It could be this year, but I do think he’ll probably win it at some stage. I don’t think he played great in that match but some of the standards he plays to when he gets on a bit of a run, he’s hard to stop.”