Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted he was so lacking in confidence before his match against John Higgins that he had booked a flight for the morning of the deciding session. The two snooker legends, both members of the famous Class of 92, produced a memorable contest at the Crucible in the second round of the World Snooker Championship. Higgins eventually triumphed 13-12 after a grueling battle.
O’Sullivan’s Surprising Admission
The Rocket initially appeared in control, taking a 6-2 lead in the first session and extending it to 9-4 on Sunday evening. However, Higgins won the last three frames of that session to reduce the deficit to just two frames. On Monday afternoon, both players performed brilliantly, with the match going all the way to a deciding frame. Higgins clinched victory, but O’Sullivan revealed he had not expected the match to reach that point.
“I’ve got to be honest with you, I had a flight booked home early this morning because I wasn’t sure I’d get to a third session before the match started,” O’Sullivan said in a post-match press conference. He explained that he was realistic about his chances, acknowledging Higgins’ recent strong form and tournament wins. “I haven’t been in any big matches, really, for two years. It’s a different level,” he added.
Self-Criticism Under Pressure
Despite playing well for much of the match, O’Sullivan was critical of his performance in crucial moments. “If you watch the match back and see how many important balls I missed to win frames, you can’t do that. You can’t miss balls under pressure, vital balls; if you do, you’re not going to win. No one’s that good,” he said. He emphasized that potting key balls under pressure is essential, and he failed to do so.
Frustration boiled over on Sunday night when O’Sullivan punched the table and banged his cue after missed shots. However, he described these actions as fleeting moments of annoyance. “I wasn’t even angry. I was quite frustrated because it was a big ball and I was like, ‘I’ve missed another bloody important ball! How many of these am I going to keep missing?’” he explained. He added that the anger was a “nice sort of anger” and that he quickly moved on after releasing it.
Looking Ahead
O’Sullivan admitted he was shocked to have made a game of it, given his lack of recent big-match experience. “It’s alright beating people in the last 64, 32, whatever it is. People ranked 30-40 in the world, but playing the top boys under pressure, a real pressure situation, I knew it was going to expose me in some sort of way,” he said. Despite the defeat, the seven-time world champion remained philosophical, focusing on the positives from his performance.
