Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out of China Open after making maximum 147

Five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan was knocked out in the first round of the China Open despite making a maximum 147 break.

O'Sullivan, 42, made the 147 in the fifth frame against fellow Englishman Elliot Slessor, who won 6-2 in Beijing.

O'Sullivan has one chance remaining to become the first player to win six ranking titles in a season.

He has won the English Open, Shanghai Masters, UK Championship, World Grand Prix and Players Championship.

However, it was the second time this season, after the Northern Ireland Open, that world number 73 Slessor has defeated O'Sullivan, who looked largely out of sorts in an error-strewn performance.

O'Sullivan, on 33 ranking titles overall, is level with Stephen Hendry, Ding Junhui and Mark Selby in winning five major titles in one campaign.

Elsewhere, defending champion and world number one Selby made it through with a 6-4 win over Scott Donaldson, China's Ding beat Craig Steadman 6-4, but former world champion Shaun Murphy suffered a shock 6-0 defeat by Chris Wakelin.

The China Open is the last event before the season-ending World Championship in Sheffield starts on 21 April.

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93 comments

BBC only want to give all the attention to O'Sullivan, all there commentators are so far up his back-side you would think no one else plays the sport.
@90. You're welcome.

Looking ahead...

Bingham is almost certain to be at the Crucible now and Allen is likely to join them if he wins today. If Ding wins today, he'll secure the third seed for the Crucible, putting him in the same half of the draw as O'Sullivan. With Higgins losing today, Trump is almost certain to be seeded fourth and in the same half as Selby.
Glad to see that people do at last respect the talent of Mark Selby.
Hope this nice young man he retains his No.1 status this year.

It is also true that O'Sullivan is an exceptional player who is well ahead of everyone on his day. The problem is that he cannot play at that level every day.
Thanks Andy B @89 for letting me know.
Why don't the BBC leave this HYS thread open all week and leave it for us to fill in the latest news. Save them the trouble.
147 for Bingham!
Was just thinking, why doesn't Ronnie like the crucible? Why is he not interested in the world championship? Maybe he plays it down, so there's no pressure & expectancy from his fans! Maybe it's to avoid putting pressure on himself or/and it could be the only tournament where his age shows! Maybe he's past it now! Meaning, he can knock in a 147 for a laugh & win the short format no probs! 17 days?
Why in this Country do ppl feel the need to put down our talented sports men / women? Ronnie is a great an entertaining snooker player. Lewis Hamilton is a great F1 driver. Andy Murray plays a good game of Tennis but there is always some keyboard Troll boosting their self esteem but writing **** about them ...
Incidentally, O'Sullivan's exit means that if Selby wins the tournament, he'll be guaranteed to keep the World number 1 ranking at the end of the season for a seventh successive year.

Only Hendry with eight in a row has had a longer streak.
O'sullivan is an obnoxious individual who happens to be quite good at snooker. Some people are happy when he wins, the cockerney loudmouths especially, others are happy when he loses. His lack of respect to his fellow professionals is well documented and he thinks that is all about him. Always good to see him being humped.
Can’t see past Selby winning the worlds if he comes through first round. He doesn’t play the kind of snooker I like to watch but if you were going to design a player to win in the long format over 17 days it would be him. His B game if not playing well is just too good. I’ll be rooting for Ronnie but fear he’ll have a ‘bad session’ at some point when his games not flowing and exit. Hope I’m wrong