RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S eight-year unbeaten run at the Shanghai Masters was halted by Judd Trump.
O’Sullivan came into the semi-final on a 21-game winning streak at the event and eyeing a fifth straight title.
But the Rocket never got going and was thrashed 10-3 by the world No 2.
The last time he tasted defeat in the tournament was almost a decade ago.
To put that in perspective, Sam Allardyce was the England manager before Gareth Southgate replaced him.
Furthermore, Conservative politician Theresa May had only recently become Prime Minister she has since been followed by Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and now Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer.
In fact his last defeat came in 2016 as he was beaten by Michael Holt 5-2 when it was a ranking event.
Trump had not enjoyed a win over O’Sullivan since the 2020 World Grand Prix, losing their last five meetings at major events.
He said: “I felt comfortable and I knew I’d lost quite a few times in a row to him.
“It’s obviously not a record you want to have where he fancies his chances every time he plays you.
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“So it was nice to get one back and show I could still play a little bit.”
Trump enjoyed breaks of 106, 128 and 127 to lead 8-1 after the first session.
During the interval, the death of Ray Reardon — O’Sullivan’s former mentor and coach — was announced.
And the Rocket came out fighting in the evening, battling back to 8-3.
But Trump, yet to win this event, got over the line with breaks of 110 and 67 to set up tomorrow’s final against Shaun Murphy
He recovered from an 8-5 deficit to beat Mark Selby 10-8.
FROM his lightning breaks to blasts at officials, Ronnie O'Sullivan has fired snooker into the spotlight.
The seven-time world champion makes almost as big an impact away from the table as on it.
O’Sullivan has three children – two daughters and a son.
And the Rocket’s on-off relationship with British actress Laila Rouass has also hit the headlines.
He has opened up on battles with his weight and addiction.
While the controversial cueist reckons he wasted NINE YEARS of his career by partying too hard.
Despite being worth £14million, O’Sullivan is renowned for his love of canal boats and snubbing flashy cars.
His rivalry with fellow star Judd Trump has been branded ‘snooker’s greatest feud’.
And Ali Carter had his nose knocked out of joint by the Rocket in their infamous ‘Snotgate’ row.
Check out all our latest Ronnie O’Sullivan articles.
THE aim of snooker is to clear the table of all balls - and achieving it in an incredible 147 break is the ultimate goal.
The rectangular table features green baize, a baulk line and semi-circle, known as the D.
It has six pockets, four in each corner and two midway down both long sides.
There are 15 red balls which are arranged in a triangular shape.
There are also six colour balls, and the white cue ball.
Each colour sits on its own designated spot at the start of the game.
While red balls are worth one point when potted, the colours all have a different value.
In ascending order these are:
The first player will cue off and must hit at least one of the red balls in the triangle.
If they pot a red, they can then continue by potting a colour.
However, if no red is potted then their opponent will play the next shot – going for a red first.
Each player must first pot a red ball when it’s their turn to play. If nothing is pocketed it is the other player’s turn at the table.
After each red is potted they must then follow with a colour, then a red, then a colour, and so on.
Whilst there are still red balls on the table, the potted colour balls are returned to their designated spot.
Once all the red balls are pocketed, the player at the table must pot the colours in the order as outlined above.
If they miss then their opponent will have the opportunity to clear the table.
A 147 is a maximum break when all reds are potted by one player in one stint at the table.
In order to achieve 147, the player must pot all 15 reds with 15 blacks for 120 points.
They must then clear all the colours, concluding with the black for 27 points.
During play the rules state that the cue must only touch the white cue ball.
The cue ball also must hit the correct colour ball – reds or colours in order.
If it hits the incorrect colour then a foul is called.
If the cue ball fails to hit any ball or is pocketed it is also a foul.
The player’s turn at the table ends if they play a foul shot.
Players are also penalised if they touch any ball on the table with their person.
