The long-awaited feud between world number one Judd Trump and Ronnie O’Sullivan at the World Grand Prix got off to a strange start.
The opening frame was quite unusual, especially from the star pair, with many missed opportunities. It took a full 34 minutes before Trump was finally able to shut out.
O’Sullivan found himself 65-40 down and in need of snooker as he tried to slip the blue into a difficult spot for his opponent at a crucial place in the frame.
Just instead of rolling the cue ball away to safety and making life difficult for Trump, he ended up potting it and giving it the frame.
“This cue ball is getting close … it’s going in!” the statement came from David Hendon.
“I don’t think every frame will be like this, somehow. But an interesting start.”
Mark Selby and Ronnie O’Sullivan break down key chalk differences
Bristol were able to shut out the opener after that, and he went on to move into a comfortable early lead in the game by taking the first three frames.
This is the first semi-final of the World Grand Prix with Jack Lisowski against Mark Selby in the last four-Saturday final.