Ronnie O'Sullivan suffers 6-0 whitewash as 'unplayable' Mark Selby knocks star out of Players Championship
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Ronnie O'Sullivan has seen his 16-match winning run come to an end in emphatic fashion at the Players Championship.
Mark Selby beat the Rocket 6-0 in Telford in their quarter-final clash to condemn his opponent to his first defeat in 103 days.
O'Sullivan made a winning return following a month's break from competing in the first round, beating Zhou Yuelong 6-2 on Tuesday.
But the 48-year-old was sent packing on Thursday, failing to win a frame as four-time world champion Selby put on a stunning display.
O'Sullivan was far from his best but his 40-year-old opponent made sure to make him pay.
Selby has had a difficult season but showed signs of a return to form in his first-round win over Barry Hawkins.
He raced into a 2-0 lead before O'Sullivan blew a big chance in the third frame to reduce the deficit.
O'Sullivan was so often confined to his chair and was 4-0 down at the interval before he knew it, with Selby hitting three half-centuries and one century break.
O'Sullivan has made a habit of coming from behind during his recent tournament successes at the Masters and the World Grand Prix.
But he was unable to pull off a similar feat at the International Centre and could only watch on as Selby won the next two frames to secure an amazing 6-0 win.
During the interval, seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry heaped praise on Selby's performance.
He described the Leicester-born star as 'unplayable' when he is in that form.
Hendry said on ITV: "Absolutely [he's worthy of the 4-0 lead]. If you add to the stats his 100 per cent safety success, he's pretty much unplayable when he plays like this. He really is.
"He missed a red in the first frame, another red in frame two, but basically he's been flawless.
"He's stamped his authority on this match early and he's kept his foot down."
Neal Foulds also paid tribute to Selby's performance, saying players must be 'special' to beat him in that mood.
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Mark Selby put on a show to beat Ronnie O'Sullivan in the Players Championship
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Foulds said: "He knows Ronnie's being kept quiet and the safety started going wrong for O'Sullivan as well.
"Every time it did, Selby got in and took advantage. Selby's really up for this, it's the best form I've seen him play for ages. When he's like this you've got to be special to beat him."
O'Sullivan had won the last three tournaments he had entered but won't be tasting success this week.
Ronnie O'Sullivan suffered defeat for the first time since last November
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The defeat is his first in 103 days, when he lost to Zhang Anda in the semi-final of the International Championship in China on November 11 last year.
He recently withdrew from both the German Masters and the Welsh Open as he prioritised his health and wellbeing.
Selby will now play either Zhang or John Higgins in his semi-final on Saturday evening, with the pair playing their quarter-final on Friday afternoon.