Ronnie O'Sullivan's quest for a first ranking title in nearly two years came to a stunning halt at the UK Championship in York, as he suffered a 6-4 defeat to China's Zhou Yuelong in his opening match.
Historic Defeat for The Rocket
The seven-time world champion entered the contest at the Barbican Centre with a perfect 7-0 career record against Zhou, including three previous victories in this very tournament. However, the 27-year-old Chinese star dramatically rewrote the script, securing his maiden win over snooker's greatest name to book a place in the last 16.
This marks O'Sullivan's second consecutive first-round exit at the UK Championship, having also lost to Barry Hawkins at this stage last year. His last ranking title was won in January 2024, with his most recent trophy of any kind coming at the World Masters of Snooker in March of the same year, extending a significant drought for the sport's biggest draw.
Zhou's Form Proves Decisive
While the result is a major upset on paper, Zhou Yuelong's strong current form provided a warning. The player nicknamed 'The Jumping Dragon' has enjoyed a fine season, reaching the final of the English Open and the semi-finals of the Northern Ireland Open.
The match itself was a tense, high-quality affair. Zhou edged two close opening frames to establish an early lead, only for O'Sullivan to respond with breaks of 71 and a superb 123 to level at 2-2 going into the mid-session interval.
A Tense Battle Decided on the Black
O'Sullivan continued his scoring with a 62 in the fifth, but Zhou stole it to regain the initiative. The Englishman then made a 94 to square the match again at 3-3. The pivotal moments came as Zhou claimed another tight seventh frame and then compiled a brilliant 125 break to move 5-3 ahead.
O'Sullivan showed his fighting spirit by taking a nervy ninth frame to stay alive at 5-4. However, a scrappy and error-strewn tenth frame culminated in Zhou finally sealing the famous victory on the black ball.
Zhou's reward is a daunting second-round clash with another former world champion, Mark Selby, presenting another formidable challenge for the four-time ranking event finalist. For O'Sullivan, questions about his title-winning form will persist after another early departure from a major event.
