Ronnie O’Sullivan Exits Champion of Champions Following Defeat by Xiao

Four-time Champion of Champions winner Ronnie O’Sullivan, who last secured the trophy in 2022, exited the 2024 Champion of Champions tournament in Bolton during its initial round, having been defeated by China’s Xiao Guodong. Following this, Xiao advanced to defeat Mark Selby 6-5 in the quarter-finals, staging comebacks from being 4-1 and 5-4 behind. During their first-round encounter, the 48-year-old O’Sullivan, a four-time Champion of Champions victor, established a 3-0 advantage in the best-of-seven-frames contest. However, he ultimately lost 4-3 following an impressive recovery by Xiao. Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan appeared set to advance to Thursday’s quarter-final at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, having achieved breaks of 95 in the second frame and 125 in the third. Nevertheless, Xiao responded with breaks of 130, 88, and 85, concluding the match by winning the decisive frame 64-35. This marks O’Sullivan’s second consecutive defeat, as he was previously eliminated from the 2024 International Championship last week at the last-32 stage by Pang Junxu, another player from China. Xiao’s next opponent was Selby, who had secured his spot in the last eight earlier on Thursday by defeating Shaun Murphy 4-2. Selby quickly established a 4-1 lead, aided by breaks of 63, 64, and 120, even though Xiao had produced a notable break of 118 to claim his initial frame. Mirroring his earlier performance, Xiao overcame a three-frame deficit to equalize the match at 4-4, and then repeated this feat two frames later to bring the score to 5-5. The decisive final frame, which featured a rerack, saw Selby initially lead 39-0. However, Xiao reversed the momentum, securing the frame 78-51 with a break of 58. Xiao is scheduled to compete against number one seed Mark Allen in the semi-finals. The other last-four match will feature sixth-seed Mark Williams against Neil Robertson.