BEIJING, March 31 (Xinhua) -- World No. 1 Ronnie O'Sullivan crashed out of the World Snooker China Open on Wednesday after dramatically losing to Chinese youngster Tian Pengfei 5-3 in the first round.
Down 4-3, O'Sullivan was leading 63-57 in the eighth frame with only the black ball left on the table. The three-time world champion gave a soft shot so that the black stopped right at the rim of the pocket to everybody's shock, which declared the end of his Beijing journey.
Tian, 22, himself was unable to find an answer to his incredible victory.
"I don't know, really. I was really shocked to see his final shot," Tian said.
"I don't know what happened to him. I felt he played too casually. Maybe he was just careless. But I was very excited to compete with him. O'Sullivan has been my idol since I was a kid."
In the most eye-catching clash of the day, Tian demonstrated impressive composure for his age facing the widely-recognized genius. He fought back from 0-2 down to clinch three frames in a row, prevailing O'Sullivan only by one point in the fourth and fifth.
Thanks to O'Sullivan's amazing mistake, Tian completed a mission impossible to the ovation from home spectators.
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