Ronnie O’Sullivan forced to sit back down after Thepchaiya Un-Nooh's ‘two fantastical flukes’ in the 2026 World Open final
By Ben Morse
Published 22/03/2026 at 11:36 GMT
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Thepchaiya Un-Nooh appeared to have luck on his side in the World Open final as he benefitted from two flukes, with Ronnie O'Sullivan forced to watch on. In the first session of the final in Yushan, China, Thai player Un-Nooh enjoyed two big slices of luck which galvanised a comeback.
‘He missed it! He knew he’d missed it!’ - Un-Nooh rides his luck as a fluked pink somehow drops
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ronnie O’Sullivan was forced to sit back in his chair after Thepchaiya Un-Nooh hit ”two fantastical flukes” in the 2026 World Open final.
In the first session of the final, O’Sullivan raced into a massive 4-0 lead before his Thai opponent came fighting back.
And a big turning point in momentum came in the eighth frame with O’Sullivan leading 4-3 and Un-Nooh looking to pot a pink.
The pink rattled around the edge of the cup, appearing to be falling just short before somehow dropping in, giving him a 15-1 lead in the frame.
Un-Nooh looked a relieved man afterwards, with a smile breaking out.
”He smiles and as well he might,” Dominic Dale said on TNT Sports commentary. ”That pink, he missed it. He knew he’d missed it. But it just seemed to go in.
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'I can't believe it' - Un-Nooh flukes an 'unbelievable' red to ramp up pressure on O'Sullivan
Video credit: TNT Sports
”Playing at the top and right-hand side forced him to hit the pink too thickly and it went in. I don’t believe it.”
Dave Hendon said on TNT Sports commentary that Un-Nooh had ”missed it all day long".
Remarkably, it was the first of two lucky breaks Un-Nooh had in Sunday’s final.
In the very next frame, the 40-year-old appeared to have misjudged a red, but fortunately for him, it rebounded and went into another pocket.
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”Where’s this red going to finish? It can’t go in, surely? Can it? Oh, it can! Oh, I don’t believe it,” Dale said. ”That’s two fantastical flukes that he’s had in this match in the same centre pocket.”
As the red was rolling towards the pocket, TV cameras showed O’Sullivan getting out of his chair, assuming that Un-Nooh had missed as he prepared to take his turn, before having to sit back down when it dropped in.
It was an apt reaction from the 50-year-old because, as Hendon described, it was an ”unbelievable” slice of luck for Un-Nooh.
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‘What an extraordinary finish’ - Un-Nooh sinks ‘great black’ to dispatch Trump
Video credit: TNT Sports
”Is his name on the trophy? Because some of the things happening here you cannot believe!” Hendon added.
Those extraordinary moments helped Un-Nooh finish the first session with a 5-4 lead, with the second session beginning at 11:30am GMT.
Un-Nooh appears to have luck on his side in this tournament, after ricochetting in the final black to defeat world No. 1 Judd Trump in the semi-finals.
The winner of Sunday’s final will win the £175,000 first prize.
O’Sullivan is appearing in his 66th major ranking event final and has enjoyed a memorable run to this point.
He achieved the highest ever break in professional snooker in his quarter-final victory over Ryan Day on Friday, completing a 153 break, surpassing the previous record of 148, achieved by Jamie Burnett in 2004.
In the semi-final, he defeated Wu Yize 6-5, producing a glorious counter clearance of 89 in the final frame to book his spot in the final in a match in which he never trailed.
The World Open runs between March 16-22, live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
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