The Ronnie O'Sullivan Mystery: The tension between sportsmanship and refereeing shows why he has a split opinion
He may well change his mind about what happened in the quarterfinals of the World Championships, but his candor should always be appreciated.
Those two rockets? This has long been the headline of snooker's most enigmatic personality, but in fact it is much more subtle.
Like many people, O'Sullivan's personality, feelings, and perspectives are multifaceted and sometimes changeable.
Like almost everyone, O'Sullivan is always willing to show these aspects openly without compromising or filtering people's ideas.
That's why his answers to any one particular topic fluctuate so dramatically. It also seems that people often instinctively answer any question with another point of view, all with a deep-seated and often healthy suspicion of tradition and authority.
This independence of mind – and his complete refusal to worry about what might happen – was a big factor in him becoming one of the greatest athletes the country has ever seen. That's why he can feel happy, frustrated, excited, and sometimes even angry for a few hours of playing snooker.
Wednesday's World Championship quarter-final against Bingham is a case in point, with two huge and truly bizarre topics in the hell of the Sheffield Crucible Theatre providing a microscope to reveal the truth.
For the first time, when O'Sullivan led 6-5 and had a chance to finally create some crucial chances between him and Bingham, referee Bozilova tried to rearrange the black ball, but the ball rolled slightly past the angle of the shot.
Rocket, the ultimate perfectionist in snooker, immediately saw what was happening and challenged Bozhlova. She tried several more times to swing the black ball back to square one, but a dent, possibly from where it had been slightly outward, meant it was always moving. O'Sullivan wasn't about to back down, Bingham was happy to sit in his seat, believing that the world number one was and Bozhlova kept working until she finally stopped.
O'Sullivan now has a clear view of the next ball and can continue to win the game. But then, the stubborn anger dissipated, and he was uncomfortable benefiting from the situation. As a result, he chose to win the game instead of attacking, sparking widespread praise for his "sportsmanship" before making a mistake that allowed the much-encouraged Bingham to earn a crucial game.
He said after the game that I just didn't feel good.
Eurosport commented: The Rockets showed extraordinary sportsmanship against Bingham.
We'll never know, but if the black ball gets back into place the first time, O'Sullivan will score the red ball without dispute, and there's a good chance he'll end up relaxing and winning comfortably.
In fact, at half-time, he was clearly still upset and the game was locked at 8-8. Speaking to Eurosport Rocket, the Rocket said: "There are referees, I think they've prepared me for them. So I just want to prove her wrong. Then I didn't feel comfortable having to attack after that, but I just wanted to show a little bit. I'm not so eager to win this way. I'm more of a principled person. ”
Unfortunately, these principles do not extend to better consider the motives for publicly questioning some adjudications. This statement, in terms of O'Sullivan that we have seen in the past 32 years, has no obvious basis. Again, this is what O'Sullivan really thought at that moment. (Welcome to click to pay attention to moisturizing AB, please indicate the source for reprinting, thank you)