Ronnie O'Sullivan says he doesn't find maximum 147 breaks "a difficult thing to do" as he brutally shrugged off criticism for not congratulating Judd Trump.
In this month's Champion of Champions final, it was O'Sullivan who held his nerve to beat his rival 10-6, as Trump failed to avenge his defeat to 'The Rocket' in the Snooker World Championship final in May. But afterwards, much of the talk centred around a mid-match incident, and not the result.
At 6-1 down and his hopes seemingly all but over, Trump racked up a majestic 147 to get himself back into the contest. But whilst the crowd roared their approval, O'Sullivan declined to congratulate or even offer a handshake to his opponent.
Trump later expressed his surprise at the actions of the seven-time world champion, admitting he "kind of expected Ronnie to get up and say well done." Mark Allen also took aim at the iconic figure, saying it would have taken him " 2 secs to show some respect."
But speaking on Eurosport, O'Sullivan explained the snub, saying: "It was a strange one. A 147, I get why other people think it's an amazing thing to do but for me - I don't find it a difficult thing to do. So when I see someone else do it I just think that's quite normal you know.
"But the most important thing going through my head was I still had one more frame to play. It was 6-2 and I was thinking I need to try and win this last frame. I was probably in too much of a zone, if my concentration wasn't so good maybe I would have got caught up in it. I was just in my bubble really."
There wasn't actually a bonus prize on offer for a maximum break and O'Sullivan, who once turned the chance of a 147 in protest over the lack of a financial incentive, questioned whether it was worth his rival doing it: "I was quite surprised afterwards that Judd actually went for the 147 because there was no prize for the 147.
"So I'm all about risk and reward. And if you're going to take the risk, and there was a few risky shots that he had to take on, then I was really shocked that he even went for it.
But he star insisted the snub "wasn't an intentional or psychological thing." He also said that he was unaware of the escalating debate over his actions, arguing that criticism "doesn't do anything to me anymore."
