Snooker star laments 'p***ing off' Ronnie O'Sullivan after being given 'reality check'
Ronnie O'Sullivan continued his impressive record against Stephen Maguire at the Xi'an Grand Prix in China last month, leaving the Scot to bemoan his struggles against The Rocket
Snooker star Stephen Maguire has lamented 'p***ing off' Ronnie O'Sullivan after his 13-year wait to beat The Rocket went on. Maguire, 44, hasn't managed to beat O'Sullivan since 2012 but he was given a fresh chance during the Xi'an Grand Prix in China last month.
The two Brits faced off in the third round of the tournament, as O'Sullivan cruised to victory, winning 5-0. The seven-time world champion pulled off breaks of 134, 70, 63 and 85.
Maguire could only applaud O'Sullivan's performance, telling the Metro: "Ronnie was unbelievable against me. Ronnie was just incredible. He made me realise how far away I am. So I've been practicing, just trying to get something."
The Scot, who was No.2 in the world behind O'Sullivan from 2008 to 2012, went on to bemoan: "He does it to me every time. I don't know what I've done to p*** him off years and years ago because he is always top notch when I go on the table with him, he's always on it. He's good to watch."
O'Sullivan didn't win the Xi'an Grand Prix, however. He was beaten by 5-2 in the quarter-finals by Gary Wilson, who said: "You've got to show him [O'Sullivan] you are ready to play.
READ MORE: Snooker world champion reveals health battle leaving him dizzy and unable to seeREAD MORE: Judd Trump and Mark Selby agree as snooker bosses warned players will quit tournaments"Against Ronnie, you can tell he's trying to look at signs, trying to tell if you feel good or you feel bad, whether you are taking your chances or you aren't, if you are bottling it.
"All of that goes through your head. He feeds off that - you need to try and block it out of your head."
Wilson was unable to make it beyond the semi-finals, as Shaun Murphy hit three centuries to book his place in the final. But he was beaten by 10-3 by Mark Williams, who became the oldest player to win a ranking event aged 50.
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Meanwhile, Maguire has fallen to as low as 25th in the world and is desperate to get back in the top 16. Having beaten Luca Brecel 4-1 on Tuesday, the 44-year-old will face China's Si Jiahui in the round of 32 at the Northern Ireland Open on Wednesday.
"It's tough, man. I don't know," Maguire admitted, speaking after losing to O'Sullivan. "If I knew what it was I'd fix it. It's tough out there. Everybody's good. It's a tough game.
"There's a lot of big tournaments coming up so every match is massive. Especially where I’m ranked, I’m nowhere right now, so I'm trying to get back up there."
He won the Championship League in July but he was rather dismissive of his achievement. "Somebody had to win the league and that's forgotten about," Maguire said. "But it's given me a good wee platform to get into the Grand Prix and that series [Players Championship and Tour Championship]."
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