RONNIE O’SULLIVAN had a horror show at the Championship League snooker event with THREE consecutive defeats in one day.
The Rocket came into the tournament looking to kick-start 2025 with some wins ahead of the Masters.
O’Sullivan suffered numerous early exits during the latter half of 2024.
And the Championship League was seen as the perfect way to warm up the muscles before competing for one of snooker’s top prizes.
However, things did not go to the plan for the Rocket today.
He faced Kyren Wilson, Chris Wakelin and Mark Selby in three separate battles.
But O’Sullivan ended losing every single game in a major blow.
It certainly does not bode well for the defence of his Masters title.
The Rocket won a record-extending eighth trophy last year with victory over Ali Carter.
And rival John Higgins has lit the fuse by claiming O’Sullivan may not win it for a ninth time as he is “past it.”
Higgins said: “Kyren Wilson and Judd Trump could be the big rivalry, but it could change so quickly.
“Those two guys will be competing against each other for the next few years, but then you’ve got a lot of the good young Chinese boys.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Ronnie O’Sullivan reveals how he would spend $1m prize money if he makes history at Riyadh Season Snooker Championship ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6366172451112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“And you’ve got Mark Allen still there, and you can never write off Mark Selby, Neil Robertson and Shaun Murphy, they’re all unbelievable champions.
“I think in the next 10 years the Class of ’92 will be past it, but I’m sure the other boys will be competing and new rivalries will be made.
“I think guys like Selby and Robertson and Murphy in the band behind me age-wise, they get easily overlooked.
“I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. People think the Class of ’92 and then guys like Judd and Kyren.
“You’ve got three guys there who are among the best to ever pick up a cue and I know because I’ve played them at their best. They are incredible.”
O’Sullivan did manager to bounce back to some kind of form when he beat Jak Jones in his fourth game.
That win keeps his Championship League hopes alive – just.