• UK Championship

O'Sullivan hits out at 'shocking' UK Championship

ESPN staff
December 1, 2014
Ronnie O'Sullivan is through to the third round © Getty Images
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Ronnie O'Sullivan has predicted there will be plenty of upsets at the UK Championship because of "shocking" tables and a poor atmosphere at the Barbican Centre.

O'Sullivan moved into round three with a 6-3 victory against Peter Lines, but world champion Mark Selby has already been eliminated after a 6-4 defeat to Ireland's David Morris.

With the early rounds being played on four tables at a time instead of two, O'Sullivan thinks there will be more big names to fall.

"I reckon there's going to be a lot more shocks until they get down to the two-table set-up," O'Sullivan told BBC Radio 5 live.

"It's like asking Roger Federer to go and play on court 13 at Wimbledon in front of three men and a dog.

"I said at the start of the tournament you're going to see some really weird results this week because you've got four tables and it's not ideal playing conditions.

"It's really tough out there because you're playing with your back to the crowd so you don't actually feel like you're playing to anybody."

O'Sullivan, a five-time world champion, also says the event is suffering from sub-standard tables.

"The tables are playing really shocking," he added. "It's going on to the cushions at one mile an hour and coming off at three miles an hour.

"I'm in the second biggest tournament we play in and I'm thinking of not using cushions. Then I got my foot broken and I'm thinking maybe this would be a good time to lose. But your instinct kicks in and you battle on."

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