O'Sullivan and Trump eliminated from NI Open as top players continue to fall
Ronnie O'Sullivan exited in the first round of the Northern Ireland Open in Belfast on Monday, losing 4-3 to Ka Wai Cheung, while Judd Trump was defeated 4-3 by Martin O'Donnell later in the session.
O'Sullivan was making his first appearance at the NI Open since 2022 and had not played at a tournament in the United Kingdom since April's World Championship 13-12 second-round loss to John Higgins; he is currently the world number 13 and was competing in a Home Nations event for the first time since the 2024 English Open. The 50-year-old is a three-time NI Open finalist and had hoped for a stronger return to UK competition.
Cheung made a bright start in Belfast by taking the opening frame, but O'Sullivan responded by winning the next three frames in rapid fashion. Breaks of 56, 138 and 72 moved O'Sullivan 3-1 ahead, suggesting he had regained control of the match.
Just as O'Sullivan looked to have found form, he missed a promising red in the fifth frame and Cheung clinched that frame with a run of 88. Cheung then forced a deciding frame with an impressive 77, and another costly miss from O'Sullivan allowed the 27-year-old to advance with a break of 61 to complete a 4-3 win.
"I'm very happy that I can still play well under pressure," reflected Cheung when he spoke to BBC Sport NI after the match. "To be honest, as you can see in the arena, Ronnie had a lot of fans. I was actually scared a little bit before the match but this is the best experience. "No matter if I had lost or won, I think it is the best experience for my snooker career and that is all I need. "To play the legend of the game and to win, this is very satisfying for me."
O'Sullivan became the eighth top-16 player to lose of the nine who had played at the Waterfront Hall so far, with Judd Trump adding to that tally when he went down 4-3 to fellow Englishman Martin O'Donnell. O'Donnell led three times in the match but Trump responded on each occasion to draw level before world number 56 O'Donnell prevailed in the deciding frame; Trump compiled breaks of 91, 94 and 52 while O'Donnell produced three breaks of 50 or over to secure his first win over the former world champion and world number three.
In other Monday afternoon matches, Barry Hawkins was beaten 4-2 by Daniel Wells, Kyren Wilson progressed to round two with a 4-0 win over Ben Mertens, Chris Wakelin lost 4-1 to Jamie Jones, and Luca Brecel defeated Lei Peifan 4-1. Scot John Higgins is among those scheduled to play in the evening session.
Cheung's victory was his first in a main-draw knockout match at a ranking event, and he will now face Stuart Bingham for a spot in the last 16.