Stu Pots Ronnie
Stuart Bingham won the latest ‘Battle of Essex’ as he sent Ronnie O’Sullivan packing from the 12Bet.com UK Championship in Telford.
Bingham has long been regarded by his fellow professionals as a talented player, a heavy scorer and a player capable of beating any opponent on any given day.
Some would question why his assault of the world rankings has stalled in the low-20s.
For a number of seasons, ‘Ball-Run’ as he is affectionately known could have pushed for a coveted top-16 place with an extended run in any one of the season’s majors.
That run never came and each year it was back to the qualifying rounds where he would do enough to maintain his position but not move forward.
A 3-and-0 record in their three previous meetings would have given O’Sullivan little to fear going into this match, the first in a major ranking competition since Ronnie Snr’s release from prison last month.
And after making breaks of 78 and 76 to level overnight, few would have predicted anything but a fourth win for O’Sullivan when their match resumed on Monday.
Further breaks of 62 and 77 gave Ronnie a two-frame lead and sent warning signs to his fellow competitors that his A-game was not far away.
Then, and seemingly for no reason, the metaphorical ‘wheels came off’. In an instant the three-times world champion had lost his focus. His shot selection bordered on reckless and mistakes became common place.
Bingham stuck to his task. He avoided being lulled into the false sense of security that is created when an opponent appears to be giving less than 100%. It is easy to become complacent and begin to make mistakes of your own, handing the initiative straight back.
With a highest break of 48, reeled off five frames in a row and claim a very satisfying victory.
"At 6-6 I could see he was annoyed with himself and he started throwing his arm at shots. I knew it was my chance to beat him.
"In the past I've been an under-achiever and my head has been in bits, partly because of things that have happened off the table. I recently got engaged and feel very happy, which has helped my snooker."
Bingham also alluded to a hint of ‘needle’ in the all-Essex clash.
"When you fluke a ball or fluke a snooker, 99 out of 100 players apologise to their opponent, but Ronnie doesn't do that," added Bingham. "Before the match I said to my manager that if I get a fluke and say sorry, he can slap me round the face. A couple of times in the match Ronnie fluked a ball and never said a word.
"We used to practise together, he would text me and ask if I wanted a game. But he hasn't texted me for nearly a year."
Bingham also revealed on his Facebook page “It's finally sinking in and I'm on cloud 9!
“No rest for the wicked though as got Marco Fu tomorrow at 12.30 and 7!
“It's gonna be harder than the 1st match in a way as I can't let myself get carried away”!
