20 Oct 2017

O'Sullivan lets fan take a shot

11:37 am on 20 October 2017

The English snooker player Ronnie O'Sullivan let a spectator who evaded security and ran around the table take his last shot as he won in the third round at the English Open.

Ronnie O Sullivan of England.

Ronnie O Sullivan of England. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

The woman entered the playing arena in Barnsley as five-time world champion O'Sullivan was about to seal a 4-1 win over China's Zhang Yong.

He carried on playing to pot the pink ball - leaving him on a 129 break - then handed his cue to the spectator.

She had two attempts at sinking the black before being led away.

"I really wanted her to pot it," O'Sullivan said.

The 41-year-old, who had earlier made breaks of 126 and 127, added: "I didn't know what to do at first and she just said: 'I'm just having a jog, I'm just going for a jog.'

"And I was like: 'Go on then, carry on then, there's your jog, have a shot as well while you're at it.'

"I thought when the [security] guys came out they were going to rugby tackle her, but I thought, 'If you do that, you might kill her.'"

"I saved her from getting a rugby tackle," he said.

O'Sullivan, who has been given permission to play in trainers after injuring an ankle, beat John Higgins 4-3 in the fourth round later in the day.

Elsewhere, world number 55 Jack Lisowski beat number-four ranked Judd Trump 4-3 in the fourth round after defeating two-time world champion Mark Williams 4-2 in the third.

Reigning world champion Mark Selby lost 4-1 to Xiao Guodong of China.

The English Open is the first of four Home Nations events, with a 2 million dollar bonus on offer if a player wins all four tournaments.

-bbc