Ronnie O'Sullivan caused a bizarre interruption in his World Open first-round match against Ross Muir when he stormed off the table due to a wardrobe malfunction. Just minutes into the first frame, with 15 points on the board, the seven-time world champion appeared uncomfortable as he prepared to take a straightforward shot on the black. He gestured to the referee, repeatedly adjusting a sponsor patch on his waistcoat, clearly irritated by the stitching.
After a brief exchange with the official, O'Sullivan shook his head and abruptly left the arena in Yushan, China, leaving Muir and the audience bewildered. The match was suspended momentarily until O'Sullivan returned a few minutes later, after the reason for the disruption had been explained. He then resumed his shot and, aided by a break of 50, secured the first frame.
Further oddities followed when a fly landed on the cue ball as Muir was about to play. The insect was shooed away and later removed during O'Sullivan's shot, but the Rocket stayed focused to take a commanding 3-0 lead with breaks of 83 and 69. Muir fought back to win the fourth frame, but O'Sullivan responded ruthlessly, narrowly missing a maximum 147 break when he went in-off after potting 15 reds and 15 blacks. He finished with a 114 break in frame six to seal a 5-1 victory.
O'Sullivan now faces Matthew Selt in the next round, and will hope his wardrobe issues are fully resolved. Elsewhere, John Higgins, Xinbo Wang, Xiao Guodong and Zhang Anda advanced, while Stuart Bingham, Jack Lisowski, Elliot Slessor and Hossein Vafaei were due to play later.
