Ronnie O'Sullivan had a senior moment after booking his spot in the World Seniors Snooker Championship final, forgetting who he had just beaten in the semi-final. The Rocket, making his first appearance in the tournament, will face Joe Perry in Sunday's final at the Crucible.
O'Sullivan Forgets Opponent
The seven-time world champion was the odds-on favorite to win the title, but faced tough challenges on his run to the final. After beating Peter Lines 4-2 in the quarter-finals, O'Sullivan scrapped to a 7-5 victory over Rob Milkins in Saturday afternoon's semi-final. The 12 hard-fought frames scrambled his mind so much that he forgot who he had just played.
"Conditions were really tough," O'Sullivan said on Channel 5. "None of the players were really making excuses and we're not making excuses. I thought me and…er…Milkins. My brain's gone! I thought we were cueing well, we were cueing alright, but it is just sometimes you can fall out of position and keep chasing the balls."
He added: "It is hard, especially under pressure in front of a big crowd. So I think we've done really well considering the conditions. I'm messing about with different types of cue actions so it was a good experience to play under pressure, try and lose it and get it back. It is all new for me, so I'm enjoying that process."
Table Conditions Under Fire
Conditions have been a major issue throughout the tournament. Milkins described the table in his first-round win over Jimmy White as "unplayable," and another table on Thursday night had such a problem with a slate that it could no longer be used. Dominic Dale vs Matthew Stevens was halted mid-match due to the broken table, with defending champion Alfie Burden's game against Igor Figueiredo then played in the practice room in embarrassing scenes.
Burden posted on social media after losing 4-0 to Figueiredo: "To say I'm disappointed would be a huge understatement, don't remember feeling this low after a snooker event. I wasn't in the mental state of mind to play that match in a practice room to be honest I was in a state of shock at what was unfolding. Literally heartbroken." He added: "Can I make it perfectly clear I wasn't given an option to play my match in the morning, I asked could I play the next morning was flatly refused was told I had to play in the cupboard. Dale Stevens was given a choice, I wasn't and I should have refused to play."
Milkins Admits Fear of O'Sullivan
While O'Sullivan struggled to recall his opponent, Milkins knew exactly who he had faced, admitting that the Rocket "scares the hell" out of him. "I'm not quite sharp, my match sharpness. I've disrespected the game for too long," said Milkins. "I was struggling to get back into it. There are signs of playing well, but I just missed too many easy balls. Ronnie scares the hell out of me always. I respect Ron. No other player does that to me. It is bad enough playing him when you are playing well. But when you are struggling, you've got no chance."
Perry Awaits in Final
Joe Perry also won his semi-final 7-5, beating Craig Steadman with a high break of 102 in the final frame. The match is a repeat of the 2017 Masters final, which O'Sullivan won 10-7 after Perry took an early 4-1 lead. Perry has found it difficult against O'Sullivan historically, with their head-to-head standing at 18-2 in the Rocket's favor. However, Perry did knock O'Sullivan out of the 2008 UK Championship at the last 16 stage.
The final is played over a best-of-19 frames at 12.30pm and 7pm on Sunday, with the winner claiming £30,000.
