Ronnie O’Sullivan admits it would have been a ‘liberty’ if he won the final-frame decider against Mark Williams in a thrilling quarter-final classic at the Masters.
The Rocket was left ruing several ‘easy’ misses as his Welsh opponent came from 3-0 and 4-2 down to knock out the world champion 6-5 – his first Triple Crown win over O’Sullivan for 23 years.
The world No.1 continued his fine form from his first-round 6-1 win over Luca Brecel, taking the opening three frames with breaks of 115, 44 and 79.
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But failure to cannon a pack of reds in the fourth and a careless miss in the fifth offered Williams a way back which he grabbed with both hands, ruthlessly dispatching a tournament-high 143 to make it 4-3.
O’Sullivan, 47, said: “I think the snooker gods did the right thing today. That would have been a liberty if I’d won that match.
“He was by far the better player, deserved to win so you have to hold your hands up and that was the right result, especially after last year with Mark [losing 17-16 to Judd Trump in the World Championship semi-finals].
“He deserved to win, as simple as that. Very rarely do I play in a match where I think it was the wrong result, maybe a handful of times in my whole career.
“So I’ve got no complaints. I can’t grumble.”
After the Welsh Potting Machine levelled the match at 4-4 with a magnificent break of 90, O’Sullivan missed a red to the middle 50-1 up.
Williams punished the error in emphatic fashion, counter-clearing to win the frame on the final black and go one away from the semi-finals.
The seven-time Masters champion replied with a break of 77, but an exceptional long red in the decider set Williams up for a triumphant 102 clearance.
“He scored better but I just didn’t score every time I got in,” admitted O’Sullivan. “It was bits and pieces. I missed a few easy balls.
“You shouldn’t win matches at this level when you don’t make the breaks. That’s what my game is based on, scoring.
“I competed out there today, did the best I could, but if the breaks aren’t flowing in, you’re going to have to fall over the line and hope your opponent makes some major mistakes.”
And responding to a question calling the standing ovation both players received as they walked out a ‘moment in history’, O’Sullivan played down the impact spectators inside Alexandra Palace had on the match.
He said: “I don’t know about ‘moment in history.’ It was just a game of snooker, and I happened to come out on the wrong end of it and that’s the way it goes.
“When you’re out there competing, you’re just playing. You’re pretty zoned out to what’s going on.
“I wasn’t really aware of all that sort of stuff. They’re supporting players well. It’s a great tournament and I’m pleased to have had a couple of matches at least.”
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