Players Championship: Why Ronnie O'Sullivan's whitewash defeat to Mark Selby could inspire snooker GOAT before Crucible - Eurosport

After Ronnie O'Sullivan was defeated 6-2 by Judd Trump in the quarter-finals of the 2012 Masters, many pessimistic critics seemed eager to declare the end of his career.

I remember bringing up this topic to Jimmy White, the winner of the 1984 Masters. He immediately dismissed the catchy phrases and instead predicted that O'Sullivan would make a strong comeback in anticipation of the 36th World Championship in Sheffield.

The old Whirlwind from London town commented, "Certainly, you have to keep an eye on O'Sullivan. It's unpredictable what he'll do next. He's capable of being extraordinary in one moment. In my opinion, he's the most talented player I've ever witnessed. Currently, Trump is taking him down. Nonetheless, it's great for the sport overall."

Ronnie seems to be handling the situation calmly. Having known O'Sullivan, I believe he will be determined to fix things before the World Championship.

White's forecast was as precise as Marty McFly's attempt at betting after procuring a copy of the outdated Sports Almanac from the film Back to the Future.

A month later after the Masters at Ally Pally, O'Sullivan began to make things right.

After three long years of waiting, he finally won a ranking title by winning the German Masters in Berlin. He had to beat Stephen Maguire, who played very well and scored three consecutive tons, to come back from a 6-3 deficit. Later on, he defeated Ali Carter 18-11 in the world final to win his fourth Crucible crown.

Unedited: Going on the nose of O'Sullivan's record-smashing moment to grab his eighth Masters crown, we got to witness some intriguing backstage moments. Rewritten: Without any editing, we got an inside look at what happened behind the scenes when O'Sullivan won his eighth Masters title, revealing some fascinating moments.

As Trump earned himself the 2019 world championship, O'Sullivan managed to snag four impressive wins during the same time frame. It's important to note that losing one game in snooker, or any sport for that matter, should not carry too much weight.

In dim settings like this, it's common for snooker players to experience losing streaks when they are not in the right state of mind. This is because snooker is a sport that requires the same level of precision and control as the rolling of its balls.

Selby responded that it was definitely his best performance of the season when asked.

The player who has won four world championships made impressive scores of 65, 91, 81, 105, and 59 in the tournament and has qualified for the semi-finals. His ability to play long shots has also been impressive. He expressed that if a player cannot feel pumped up to compete against Ronnie with a jam-packed audience, which is always his specialty, then they are not suitable for the game. It is important to challenge oneself in such situations.

Perhaps, O'Sullivan may regret not entertaining the large audience who came to witness his performance at the Telford International Centre.

The seven-time world champion is no stranger to losing heavily at a top level. Despite experiencing some major setbacks during his 32-year career in snooker, he has seen it all. These defeats are usually rare occurrences.

Last season, he lost to Ding Junhui 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, and then suffered another defeat in the same stage of the Welsh Open, where Tian Pengfei whitewashed him 5-0.

However, Ding was not favored by recent history when he was defeated 10-7 by O'Sullivan in the UK Championship final a year later.

On the other hand, O'Sullivan's victory over Luca Brecel in the first round of the Masters last year was no longer important after losing seven consecutive frames and getting defeated by the 'Belgian Bullet' in the quarter-finals of the World Championship with a score of 13-10.

O'Sullivan hits balls with forceful break-off in aggressive style around the table.

Three years back, O'Sullivan faced a loss to Hossein Vafaei with a score of 5-0 at the German Masters. However, he managed to dismiss this defeat and emerged victorious with a score of 13-2 in the second round of the World Championship in April. He also defeated Vafaei in the semi-finals of the UK tournament with a score of 6-2 in December.

Interestingly, just like when he lost to Selby, this recent match saw him potting the reds without much consideration and with some personal enjoyment.

If he experiences a loss, it's probable that he'll put in more work to pursue his goal of winning an unprecedented eighth championship title at the upcoming 48th World Championship in April.

O'Sullivan has been doing really well this season, with an exciting 10-7 victory over Selby in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals, followed by a 11-9 win over world champion Brecel in the final. He then went on to win trophies at the Masters, UK Championship, and World Grand Prix.

Selby's victory put an end to his winning streak of 16 consecutive matches, which is a normal occurrence in the world of professional sports.

It was inevitable that Trump's winning streak would eventually be broken due to the constant flow of tournaments that make it almost impossible to dominate in snooker. Despite his victories in Wuhan, Belfast, Berlin, and Brentwood this season, Trump fell to defeat in the Players Championship quarterfinals against Carter with a 6-4 scoreline, just the night before.

When it comes to the bigger picture of potting, a loss of 6-0 or 6-4 isn't all that significant. Even though Selby defeated O'Sullivan, it only temporarily affected his confidence in his ability to pot in the wider scheme of things.

Feel free to interpret it however you want. It's unlikely to affect his chances for the rest of the campaign.

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