Ronnie O’Sullivan suffered another early exit at a ranking event on Monday, this time at the Northern Ireland Open, but he appears keen to try and improve his underwhelming form.
The Rocket was beaten 4-3 by world number 110 Cheung Ka Wai in Belfast, to make it back-to-back first round exits.
At the Shenzhen Open last month, O’Sullivan was beaten 5-2 by Jiang Jun and fell at the first hurdle in the process.
The season has not been a complete washout, with a semi-final run at the Wuhan Open in August, but the 50-year-old continues to look very vulnerable in the early rounds.
The old magic was on show briefly on Monday as the Rocket made a brilliant 138 and then a 72 to go 3-1 ahead, but Cheung was unfazed and knocked in breaks of 88, 77 and 60 to score a huge win for him.
The 27-year-old from Hong Kong is a talented player but this was the first time he has ever beaten someone in the top 16.
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The aura around O’Sullivan, a force field that saw opponents crumble when he went ahead or wilt when the winning line approached, appears to have significantly weakened.
His great rival John Higgins has said about the Rocket in the past: ‘Listen, he has got an aura, of course he has. He’s the greatest. He’s like the Ready Brek boy, he’s just got that magic stardust.’
For younger readers, the Wizard of Wishaw is referencing an advert for porridge from the ’80s which featured a glowing child.
That glow has not gone, but it has certainly dimmed as the defeats to lower-ranked players stack up, but O’Sullivan intends to try and rediscover his shine in the weeks to come.
The Rocket does not play a lot of UK-based events, so it was somewhat surprising to see him in Belfast, but he now has a busy schedule to come in England.
‘I thought I could play here [Belfast], I’m in Champion of Champions as well, I’ve got the 900 just before the UK [Championship], then hopefully the UK as well,’ he told TNT Sports. ‘If I can get a little run of tournaments that’s good for me.’
Ronnie O'Sullivan is the EIGHTH seed to fall in Belfast! 🫨
— WST (@WeAreWST) October 19, 2026
Only Kyren Wilson has progressed from the top 16 so far…#NIOpen | @betvictor pic.twitter.com/ni4X6aoCiy
The Champion of Champions is in Leicester next month, while the 900 event he mentions is the Crucible Cup in Reading on November 24 and 25, featuring the likes of Neil Robertson and Wu Yize.
Playing a decent number of events suggests O’Sullivan does want to rediscover some kind of form, although he didn’t sound hugely fussed ahead of his match yesterday.
‘I don’t really get excited anymore, I’d have much rather stayed at home today and just had a nice easy day, to be honest with you, but I got myself here and I’m keen, I’m always keen,’ he said ahead of playing Cheung.
‘If you gave me a choice of just relaxing at home, going to the gym, going for a run, having some nice food, seeing friends, or coming here I’d have chose that all day. But I’ve still got to do a bit of work. Well…I haven’t got to, but it’s probably good for me to get out and play a little bit.’
His fellow seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry predicted that O’Sullivan will win a title this season back in August and he is sticking to his guns.
Hendry wrote on his CueTips+ last week: ‘I still think Ronnie will win a tournament this season but he doesn’t play in anywhere near as many events as he used to. He says the fire in his belly is still there but I’m dubious whether he’s the same animal that he was.
‘It’s the same with John Higgins and Mark Williams. Their really great performances are becoming fewer and farther between. They are all great competitors so they will still come good at some point, they’ve just maybe lost some consistency.
‘I believe Ronnie will win something, we just don’t know which tournaments he’ll actually be in.’
The Rocket’s next chance to lift silverware again will be at the Champion of Champions, which runs from November 9-15 at the Mattioli Arena. The draw has not been done yet as the field will only be confirmed after this week’s Northern Ireland Open.
The 50-year-old has suggested that the 2028 World Championship could be his last before retirement, so time is starting to run out to get back in the winner’s circle.
The Rocket far from only favourite to be grounded
O’Sullivan may have suffered a surprise loss to a lower-ranked professional, but there have been plenty of top players in that boat at the Northern Ireland Open.
On Sunday Mark Selby was shocked by Louis Heathcote, Neil Robertson ousted by Ricky Walden, Shaun Murphy downed by Liam Davies and Xiao Guodong beaten by Sam Craigie.
Barry Hawkins succumbed to Daniel Wells on Monday afternoon and Chris Wakelin lost to Jamie Jones before the Rocket was beaten.
Then came maybe the most shocking of all the shocks as Martin O’Donnell beat Judd Trump 4-3.
There has been something in the water in Belfast meaning O’Sullivan is far from the only favourite to taste defeat.