SNOOZE... YOU LOSE
Insomniac O’Sullivan beaten by amateur in ‘biggest ever upset’
Ronnie o’Sullivan sleep-walked out of the Betfred World Championship in the greatest Crucible shock of all time.
o’Sullivan suffered a stunning 10-8 defeat in Sheffield against James Cahill — the first amateur player to reach the iconic venue.
The five-time champion was the title favourite after winning five tournaments from only 10 played this season, reclaiming the world no 1 spot for the first time in nine years.
But dozy o’Sullivan, suffering badly from insomnia and a bug, crashed out at the first hurdle as he struggled to stay awake in the arena.
o’Sullivan was 50-1 on to win the match, but he said: ‘All my limbs feel heavy, legs and arms, i had no energy and i just feel shattered and drained. i was struggling to stay awake. i feel absolutely horrendous. You have to come here feeling mentally and physically good — mentally i was oK but i didn’t expect to do well here. i have had insomnia for a few years now.
‘ eventually you get used to having two or three hours’ sleep. Then i had a spell of sleeping a bit better. Then when it gets worse again you really feel it, as your body is not adjusted.
‘i haven’t been sleeping great for the last couple of nights.
‘i was hoping to get through this one and have days off to get better, but it wasn’t meant to be.
‘i was under the weather and felt exhausted — but that’s just answering the question and nothing should detract from James’s achievement. everyone gets these things, if you could take a magic pill then you would to protect yourself. ‘it goes to show you can do all the right things, trying to eat well, stay healthy and fit and it might not work.’ Former world champion Ken Doherty was in no doubt about the seismic nature of the defeat for o’Sullivan. The irishman, who lifted the trophy in 1997, said: ‘it is the biggest shock in Crucible history, absolutely huge. But you could see Ronnie didn’t look well during the match.’ And six- time winner Steve Davis reckons it could be the end of the Rocket’s attempt to equal Stephen Hendry’s record seven world titles. Davis said: ‘one person who may be quite happy today is Stephen. it will now be very difficult for Ronnie to overhaul that seven world titles. That record should be secure.’
For Cahill — a 23-year-old from Blackpool who fell off the tour in 2017 but is already back on next term — this was the greatest moment of his fledgling career.
And it has come without the assistance of seven-time champion Hendry, who was formerly married to Cahill’s aunt — in the audience yesterday with the rest of his family.
Cahill, (left) a 750-1 shot for the title last week, said: ‘Unfortunately Stephen hasn’t had a lot to do with my career, it is a bit of a shame. i used to go to Scotland to play at their house, his son Blaine is a good friend. i played a couple of frames there and asked him for some help, but he didn’t seem interested, that is the best way to describe it.
‘So i don’t owe anything to Stephen, i owe it all and my career to my family, sponsors and coaches. i am over the moon of course, to beat the best player in the world and hold myself together on my Crucible debut. it doesn’t get any better than that.
‘i have had help from other coaches before like Frank Callan. But my current one Chris Henry has just helped take me to the next level.
‘Maybe the main thing he helps me with is to think well and clearly out there, there is so much going on in the arena. Chris helps put you back in the right frame of mind to win.’