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Ronnie O'Sullivan dismisses Judd Trump and Neil Robertson condition gripes after error-strewn UK Championship battle

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Judd Trump and Neil Robertson both found fault with the playing conditions on York Barbican's table one, with Trump calling it "very bouncy, very heavy." Robertson, meanwhile, said no one but themselves could criticise their performances. Ronnie O'Sullivan insisted the table was the same for both players and could not understand why they complained after their UK Championship first-round clash.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan said he did not understand why Judd Trump and Neil Robertson complained about the "very bouncy, very heavy" tables after their first-round clash at the UK Championship.

Both Trump and Robertson were unhappy with the conditions on table one at the York Barbican, where the Englishman claimed five frames in a row to beat his opponent 6-3.

The encounter was littered with uncharacteristic mistakes, including the world No. 1 almost missing the pack from his second-frame break-off.

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But O'Sullivan was adamant that he would never complain about the tables, given that the playing field is both figuratively and literally level for each professional.

"I never really get that when people complain about the conditions, because you're playing on the same table," O'Sullivan told Eurosport.

"It's not like your opponent has got a great table and you're playing on a bad table. Or in golf when you go out in the morning and the weather is fantastic and then at 15:00 the weather can change and it's hailstones. Okay, I get that.

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"But actually, the conditions are the conditions. It's about who adapts. You never hear me complaining about tables because I know it's the same for both of us.

"You just have to find a way to get the best out of the table."

Despite ultimately grabbing the victory, Trump insisted that he is more affected than most when the table is heavy, given that he consistently plays with side.

"I did my best in both sessions, as well as I could play in the conditions out there," said Trump. "So we both found it tough. It's difficult when you can't perform to your best out there in a big event.

"We both struggled with conditions a little bit and just tried to not give up and hopefully it would turn around, hopefully Neil would miss a couple or things would go my way and that's kind of what happened after the interval.

"The cushions were just very, very bouncy, very heavy, so it was very hard to stop the white. Every time you hit the ball it would go near a cushion and it's tough because it gets you down.

"I think I'm someone that performs better in perfect conditions. When the table's heavier, I'm probably one of the worst players just because I don't hit the centre of the ball."

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And while O'Sullivan dismissed the pair's complaints, Robertson said that only he and his opponent "could be critical" of their respective performances, even noting that he and Trump found the funny side in a mid-session break.

"I think probably the only two people who could be critical of our play were myself and Judd, because unless you're out there, and you know how hard the conditions are playing today, that was tough," said Robertson.

"When the gentleman had an issue and we came off for 20 minutes, we were both sort of laughing about it really. I mean, he's almost missed the red off the break-off. That tells you how hard things were out there.

"Basic positional shots flying off the cushions, going two feet too far has sort of been a bit of a pattern this week, and I don't think the standard has been very good because of that.

"It was just a really, really tough game for both of us, and just a bit unfortunate really that neither of us could play at our level."

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