Ronnie O'Sullivan suffers stunning defeat to He Guoqiang in another English Open first-round upset
Updated 17/09/2024 at 23:59 GMT+1
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The English Open first round delivered another upset, with Ronnie O'Sullivan the second top-10 player to suffer elimination. World No. 6 Mark Williams had already bowed out after a 4-1 defeat to Ben Woollaston, before O'Sullivan fell to He Guoqiang. A subdued crowd inside the Brentwood Centre had very little to cheer, as their desire for an O'Sullivan victory was unfulfilled.
He clinches shock win over O'Sullivan at English Open
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ronnie O’Sullivan was dumped out of the English Open in the first round after a shock 4-2 defeat to He Guoqiang in Brentwood.
The Rocket had few answers on the night against the 24-year-old, who produced a superb performance to advance into the second round where he will face Stephen Maguire.
The 24-year-old raced into a 3-0 lead, and while O'Sullivan was able to avoid the whitewash, He eventually prevailed in the sixth frame to seal an outstanding victory.
O'Sullivan missed a couple of reds in a cagey opening frame, with the second allowing He to clear up the colours on his way to a clearance of 34 after The Rocket's potential frame-winning break ended at 45.
It would go from bad to worse for the seven-time world champion, as the Chinese player took advantage of his safety error to move 2-0 ahead.
After a red and brown combination, he worked his way to an impressive break of 78 to ruthlessly punish O'Sullivan for his earlier mistake.
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O'Sullivan in trouble as he falls 0-3 down against He
Video credit: TNT Sports
He was smelling blood and looked to seize the third frame early on after two brilliant shots to land a red followed by a black.
It was not enough to take him onto a frame-winning break, but his chance soon came after O'Sullivan failed to pot an ambitious red, and the Chinese player motored towards a 3-0 lead when he landed the brown.
Another sizeable clearance of 77 left O'Sullivan on the brink of an embarrassing exit and needing to win the remaining four frames to stay in the competition.
If ever there was a player capable of such a feat, it was O’Sullivan, and he at least avoided the ignominy of a whitewash defeat by taking the fourth frame comprehensively.
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'What a shot' - O'Sullivan pots superb red from long range against He
Video credit: TNT Sports
He was left to rue a routine missed red, and we saw a glimpse of vintage O'Sullivan, who rapidly progressed to a break of 56.
But He was unable to make The Rocket pay on this occasion, and O'Sullivan got the job done to reduce the arrears.
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O'Sullivan sinks 'brilliant' blue against He
Video credit: TNT Sports
Suddenly, O'Sullivan was back in the contest after following up a red with a sublime blue to head into a quickfire break of 59 to move within one frame of He.
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However, there was to be no grand comeback on this occasion for O'Sullivan. Another uncharacteristic safety error opened the door for He to seal the deal with a break of 50 to claim a huge scalp.
Elsewhere, Jamie Jones booked his place in the second round with a comprehensive 4-0 whitewash victory over Zhou Yuelong.
Anthony McGill overcame Guodong Xiao 4-2, while Xu Si beat Jack Lisowski 4-3.
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