Ronnie O’Sullivan vowed to continue taking risks as he survived a scare to reach the second round of the 19.com Scottish Open in Glasgow.
O’Sullivan fought back from 2-0 and 3-1 down to clinch a 4-3 victory over Dominic Dale that was sealed by a rapid break of 83 in the deciding frame.
In the fourth he needed the black to win but attempted an audacious “banana shot” that saw the white fly off the table, enabling Dale to surge 3-1 ahead.
Wow 🤯pic.twitter.com/JQHMX83YMo 🔴 Watch the #ScottishOpen LIVE📺 @Eurosport_UK 1📺 @QuestTV📱💻🖥 Eurosport Player: https://t.co/b9xY9jBkoI
— World Snooker (@WorldSnooker) December 10, 2019
The 44-year-old was criticised on social media for not taking the match seriously, but he will not deviate from his desire to “die early or kill early”.
“There are lot of people who have enjoyed the way I’ve played over the years, they’ve supported me and love the way I play snooker,” he told Eurosport.
“They come to my exhibitions and give standing ovations. It’s a fine line to tread and there are people who appreciate different types of snooker.
“That’s why you have Prada and TK Maxx. You don’t have to buy Prada, you can go down to TK Maxx and get yourself a nice Dunlop T-shirt if you like. Variety is good.
“I don’t want to be playing 50-60 minute frames, that’s not for me. I’d rather be in and out – die early or kill early.
“I just wanted to banana the black in and see if the pocket could take it. I knew I needed the black, but the pocket couldn’t take it.
“I couldn’t believe my luck that it had gone over the hole. I thought there was no way it couldn’t go in, but then the white jumped off the table.
“I love the bananas. I’m enjoying it. The most important thing is to enjoy it.”
World number one Judd Trump cruised into the second round with a 4-0 whitewash of Moroccan Amine Amiri.
