Ronnie O'Sullivan ended a week plagued by problems by bizarrely biting the tip off his cue during a whitewash defeat in the Welsh Open quarter-final.
The 5-0 defeat at the hands of world No.53 Tian Pengfei means that O'Sullivan has failed to qualify for next week's Players Championship. O'Sullivan was bidding for a record-equalling fifth Welsh Open crown in Llandudno this week but has suffered severe problems with the tip of his cue during several matches.
The issues started in his second round match against Ross Muir when the world No.1 was forced off the table in consecutive frames. The Rocket was shocked to discover that his tip had flown off while knocking in the final pink of the second frame.