‘I’ve had enough’ – Ronnie O’Sullivan left snooker rival in disbelief by quitting mid-frame
Ronnie O’Sullivan left Stephen Hendry perplexed with his withdrawal from the 2006 UK Championship. The Rocket walked out of the arena midway through their quarter-final at the Barbican Centre in York. WSTO’Sullivan infamously withdrew midway through a match against Hendry in 2006[/caption] WSTThe Rocket walked out mid-frame during their UK Championship quarter-final[/caption] Hendry had been leading 4-1 in the best-of-17 frames encounter, when the incident occurred during the sixth frame. O’Sullivan had pieced together a break of 24 as he attempted to cut into his rival’s lead. However, he was left without a red over any of the pockets after sinking the black. The then world number one responded by conceding the match after his next shot. As Hendry approached the table, O’Sullivan shook his hand and told him: “I’ve had enough.” He also shook the referee’s hand before walking backstage as the crowd watched on in surprise. Hendry was left equally stunned as he spoke to the referee, who could be heard saying: “Sorry, what can we do?” The Golden Bairn was awarded a 9-1 victory as a result of O’Sullivan’s withdrawal. Meanwhile, his opponent later reflected on the incident in 2023 during an appearance on Hendry’s YouTube channel. O’Sullivan explained: “I had a lot going on off the table at home and I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to play. I’d nearly done it in a few matches before. WSTO’Sullivan admitted ‘I’ve had enough’ before leaving the arena[/caption] WSTHendry was left perplexed by his opponent’s exit[/caption] “You were 4-1 up and I thought ‘I can’t take this, I need to get out of here’. “My head just wasn’t right for playing. I just needed to be out of there. I can’t put it down to anything other than my life being in chaos. “I’ve definitely calmed down a lot now.” Hendry went on to make the final in 2006, where he faced Peter Ebdon. However, he was unable to win a sixth UK Championship as the Force secured a 10-6 victory. As for O’Sullivan, he returned a year later to claim his then fourth title, this time in Telford. The 49-year-old has since won the event four more times, most recently in 2023. His tally of eight UK Championship triumphs is the most of any player since the tournament was first held in 1977.
Ronnie O’Sullivan left Stephen Hendry perplexed with his withdrawal from the 2006 UK Championship.
The Rocket walked out of the arena midway through their quarter-final at the Barbican Centre in York.
Hendry had been leading 4-1 in the best-of-17 frames encounter, when the incident occurred during the sixth frame.
O’Sullivan had pieced together a break of 24 as he attempted to cut into his rival’s lead.
However, he was left without a red over any of the pockets after sinking the black.
The then world number one responded by conceding the match after his next shot.
As Hendry approached the table, O’Sullivan shook his hand and told him: “I’ve had enough.”
He also shook the referee’s hand before walking backstage as the crowd watched on in surprise.
Hendry was left equally stunned as he spoke to the referee, who could be heard saying: “Sorry, what can we do?”
The Golden Bairn was awarded a 9-1 victory as a result of O’Sullivan’s withdrawal.
Meanwhile, his opponent later reflected on the incident in 2023 during an appearance on Hendry’s YouTube channel.
O’Sullivan explained: “I had a lot going on off the table at home and I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to play. I’d nearly done it in a few matches before.
“You were 4-1 up and I thought ‘I can’t take this, I need to get out of here’.
“My head just wasn’t right for playing. I just needed to be out of there. I can’t put it down to anything other than my life being in chaos.
“I’ve definitely calmed down a lot now.”
Hendry went on to make the final in 2006, where he faced Peter Ebdon.
However, he was unable to win a sixth UK Championship as the Force secured a 10-6 victory.
As for O’Sullivan, he returned a year later to claim his then fourth title, this time in Telford.
The 49-year-old has since won the event four more times, most recently in 2023.
His tally of eight UK Championship triumphs is the most of any player since the tournament was first held in 1977.
