Ronnie O’Sullivan ‘unsettled’ at World Championship after unusual events vs John Higgins

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Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted he was ‘unsettled’ by playing conditions at the Crucible, which included a wet seat and not having a dressing room, despite moving to the brink of history by beating John Higgins in his World Championship semi-final. O’Sullivan, 46, was at his mercurial best against his fellow veteran, producing some scintillating play on Friday afternoon to convert a 6-6 score into a 10-6 lead – before finishing the job with an eventual 17-11 win on Saturday.

During the match Higgins, also 46, clearly lost his composure as he struggled to keep pace with ‘The Rocket’, who now faces Judd Trump in the final. If he prevails, he’ll equal Stephen Hendry’s record total of seven world titles.

As always, O’Sullivan hasn’t just been making his headlines in Sheffield for his play around the table. During his first-round match against David Gilbert, he was reprimanded for making a lewd gesture after missing a simple black.

And he clearly wasn’t happy at times against Higgins, involved in several discussions with the match referee over the course of the match. Speaking to Eurosport pundit Jimmy White, he explained how at one point he sat down on his seat, only to find it was wet.

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“It must have been wet because I sat down and I’ve just drenched my…” he explained, before White jumped in with: “What about your towel? Did you put a wet towel down?” O’Sullivan then clarified “It [the seat] must have been wet from before.”

He then joked: “I might actually have to bring a hairdryer out from now on if someone has wet the seat.” It wasn’t his only gripe though, adding: “I turned up to the venue to go to my dressing room and found I didn’t even have a dressing room.

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“I was a bit unsettled tonight to be honest. I forgot my chalk, which wasn’t ideal preparation.” O’Sullivan added. he did however, agree with White’s assertion that the same things wouldn’t happen when he faces Trump in Sunday’s final.

Trump himself had a far more dramatic semi-final against Mark Williams. The 32-year-old, a world champion in 2019, had to hold his nerve to win the final two frames of the clash to come through 17-16, in what proved an all-time classic.

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