Ronnie O'Sullivan pockets maximum 147 at English Open
"I didn't even fancy potting that (last) black to be honest with you, I was feeling it"
Last Updated: 17/10/18 3:33pm
Two days after Ronnie O'Sullivan described the venue in Crawley as a "hellhole", he treated the crowd at the K2 Leisure Centre to the 15th maximum break of his career.
The 147 sealed O'Sullivan's 4-0 victory over Allan Taylor in the second round of the English Open.
Earlier in the week, O'Sullivan complained that he could smell urine in the player interview area and criticised event organisers for not separating the tournament from other sports being played at the leisure centre.
Did you know...
O'Sullivan holds the record for the fastest maximum 147 break - made in just over five minutes. And his two hundred-plus breaks in the win over Taylor also took the world No 3 to 956 career centuries.
O'Sullivan, who also made a break of 135 in the second frame, potted 15 reds with 15 blacks and then cleared the colours to finish the match in style with a seemingly effortless 147.
"I felt sorry for Allan out there because you could see he was struggling, he's a lot better player than that," O'Sullivan said on Eurosport. "I think the conditions and just being on the TV table got to him a bit.
"I got a bit fortunate earlier on, I missed quite a few balls. We both did and my bad was a bit better than his bad."
O'Sullivan, who will play either Jimmy White or Matthew Stevens in the next round, added: "I did think about it from the first red because I thought I've got to try and do something in this match to get myself excited.
"From about 40-odd I was in bits, I was twitching all over the gaff. My back arm was like a bit of fish, flapping all over the gaff and then they've all gone quiet (fellow players) to watch the max and I thought that's the worst thing you can do, just carry on playing, make some noise, do something.
"When it went too quiet you felt the pressure is on you even more. I didn't even fancy potting that (last) black to be honest with you, I was feeling it."
O'Sullivan will have to share the £17,000 total prize after Thailand ace Thepchaiya Un-Nooh struck a 147 break on Tuesday.
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