Ronnie O'Sullivan crashed out of the Riyadh Snooker Championship after Shaun Murphy defeated the Rocket.
Murphy capitalised on O'Sullivan's poor form with a 4-0 whitewash win in the best-of-seven match.
The seven-time world champion was among the favourites to win the tournament and scoop the £250,000 up for grabs, but suffered a surprise exit in his opening match.
Murphy narrowly missed a century break in the first frame.
Ronnie O'Sullivan crashed out of the Riyadh Snooker Championship after Shaun Murphy defeated the Rocket
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O'Sullivan looked like he would grab the second before missing a pink pot.
The Englishman went on to win the last two frames with little effort.
Snooker fans took to social media to react to the result, with one accusing the former world champion of not giving a monkeys.
One wrote: "Ronnie didn’t look bothered. Picked up a nice first-class flight, accommodation and massive appearance fee from the Saudis…that’ll do. Easy money for the (Rocket)."
Another said: "Ronnie needs to get involved in more tournaments, can't just turn up when he feels like it and expect to do well."
A third praised Murphy: "That was impressive, his long potting was incredible."
Murphy hadn’t beaten Ronnie O’Sullivan in more than eight years before the game on Wednesday night.
The Riyadh Snooker Championship offers a chance for players to claim a £760,000 bonus by sinking a golden ball, which is worth an additional 20 points, after completing a maximum break.
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Murphy capitalised on O'Sullivan's poor form with a 4-0 whitewash win in the best-of-seven match
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Before the tournament started, O'Sullivan claimed he would rather sink the golden ball than with the competition.
He said, "I’d rather get the big break. I mean I won the tournament before and it’s great to win the tournament.
"But to get the 167 I think that’d be amazing. An amazing achievement if anybody could do it.
"Someone said there’s been 14 147s this year. So that’s a hell of a lot. But to get that golden ball, that’s the true test. I don’t think anyone will do it, if that’s my personal opinion. I’d be happy to be wrong."
The Rocket won't get the chance to win the prize as he will now watch from the sidelines.
Murphy narrowly missed a century break in the first frame
|TNT SPORTS
Speaking after winning the game, Murphy told TNT Sports: "Very, very happy. It's a long time since I tasted victory against Ronnie and they are special any time they come up, even in a short match like this.
"It's such a prestigious event and despite it only being best of seven, I was pleased with how I played and I'm delighted to get through.
"I think certainly when I was younger and much gobbier, you perhaps make a bit of a rod for your own back and certainly against someone like O'Sullivan it's very easy to start not playing your normal game.
"I just tried to go out and play snooker as I have done all season and thankfully for me, some of those long reds went in and they give you the momentum in the match. On another day they don't go in and we're potentially having a slightly different conversation.
"Ronnie was a little unlucky with some of the splits that he played. Some of the escapes were magnificent. I just managed to get to the winning score first."
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