On Thursday, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Selby squared off in the Players Championship quarterfinals.
A refereeing error helped Ronnie O’Sullivan during his Players Championship quarterfinal matchup with Mark Selby on Thursday. Referee Desislava Bozhilova did not issue a warning to the Rocket following his second miss, despite the fact that the three-miss snooker rule should have made the Rocket give up the first frame.
A player’s opponent wins the frame if they have a clear view of a red and miss it three times in a row. However, for the rule to be applied, the referee must alert the offender following the second miss.
Referee Bozhilova did not alert O’Sullivan during Selby’s match, presumably unaware that he was catching a peek of the red. Consequently, after missing his first three attempts, the 48-year-old was granted another chance, and he drove into a cluster of reds to save the frame.
After being prevented from establishing an early one-set lead against the seven-time world snooker champion, Bozhilova apologized to Selby for his poor decision.
Ultimately, Selby won the first frame with a stunning 65 break, making up for the referee’s mistake. He continued to apply pressure in the second, breaking O’Sullivan with a break of 91 to put some distance between them. By the end of the first session, he was four up.
Selby, who has lost his last two encounters in person with O’Sullivan, will have had his work cut out for him heading into the Players Championship match.
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