Ronnie O’Sullivan’s title defence at the UK Championship ended at the first hurdle after losing 6-4 to Barry Hawkins in their first-round match.
The eight-time UK Championship winner got off to a strong start with a break of 128 with another century in the fourth frame.
O’Sullivan appeared to be cruising into the next round as Hawkins failed to find his rhythm in the early stages.
But the world No 20 soon found his groove and began to make O’Sullivan pay for his many errors.
Ronnie O’Sullivan lost to Barry Hawkins
PA
After holding a 4-2 lead, O’Sullivan lost the next four frames as he was left sat in his chair for the most part.
Hawkins, who needs a deep run in York to keep his hopes alive of qualifying for The Masters, has struggled to find results against O’Sullivan in the past
But he grabbed his first win over the 23-time Triple Crown champion in eight years to progress to the next round.
Hawkins punched the air in delight after securing a famous victory as O’Sullivan made a quick exit.
The defeat for O’Sullivan is the latest in what has become a worrying trend for the snooker icon this season.
He enjoyed one of the best campaigns of his career last year with victories at the UK Championship and Masters along with victories at the Shanghai Masters, World Grand Prix and the World Masters of Snooker event in Saudi Arabia.
But O’Sullivan has been unable to carry that momentum into this current campaign with some disappointing results.
He’s made just two semi-finals – the Shanghai Masters and Xi’an Grand Prix – and has suffered some shock defeats.
Barry Hawkins ended his losing streak against Ronnie O’Sullivan
PA
O’Sullivan was knocked out in the first round of the English Open to He Guoqjang and he subsequently withdrew from the next three tournaments citing medical reasons.
He made his return at the International Championship and got his revenge on He with a resounding victory and showed signs of his best form.
But that deserted him in the very next round against Pang Junxu, who pulled off a huge upset.
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Xiao Guodong then followed in the footsteps of his compatriots with a sensational comeback victory over O’Sullivan in the first round of the Champion of Champions.
O’Sullivan’s next tournament will be the Scottish Open at the start of December, where he’s been drawn against China’s Xing Zihao.
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