‘Loving every second of it’

Stuart Bingham believes learning to “relax” played a big part in his stunning victory over Ronnie O’Sullivan in their World Snooker Championship quarter-final.

It is the first time he has reached a ranking event semi-final in over two years.

The 47-year-old says he has taken a new perspective on tournaments recently, and that is helping him return to the top of his game.

“Unbelievable, what a match,” he told Eurosport pundits Jimmy White and Alan McManus. “I enjoyed every second of it, even when I was 8-6 down.

“I thought ‘I’m just enjoying it’, but also, something clicked. I played unbelievable the last couple of frames.

“[We] broke off this evening, he’s made a hundred, it’s an uphill battle. But something clicked in my game. I felt calm out there. I was loving every second of it. I was going toe-to-toe with the best player ever, and looking around, it’s just brilliant.

“Coming here, being out there, playing the best player ever, you can sort of relax.

“My record against him is not great, most probably like everybody else, but just go out there, all of a sudden something clicks in your game and you fancy every shot.

“I remember taking a red down the baulk rail and I think I was 10-9 up. I was like ‘no, I’m going for it. This is my chance, I’m going to go for it.’

“That’s how I played and I came out on top.”

‘The kind of start you dream about’ – Bingham begins second session with century

Bingham, who registered three centuries in the match, has endured a barren couple of years, failing to win a single ranking event title since the 2019 Gibraltar Open.

In the intervening years, he has reached only two semi-finals, here at the Crucible in 2021 and then at the World Grand Prix in the same year.

Even 2024 has not been kind to him, with a run in the Scottish Open the only previous time he had made a quarter-final, until coming to Sheffield.

But the man nicknamed ‘Ball Run’ believes having to come through qualifying to book his place in the main draw stood him in good stead.

“I think the sharpness we’re getting from the qualifiers,” he answered, as to why three players from outside the world’s top 16 have made the semis.

‘Just chill’ – O’Sullivan and referee clash amid crowd noise

“We’ve come here, the tables are a bit nippy, they were in the qualifying. We’re match sharp.

“You get in certain situations, even against the top seeds, that you’re not that bothered [about], because you’ve had at least two games in the qualifiers. You’ve come through that. You’re going through the draw.

“I’ve been around the game near enough as long as Jimmy [White]. I’m not scared of anyone. You just get on with your game and see what happens.”

O’Sullivan plays down conditions, praises Bingham

O’Sullivan, meanwhile, refused to blame the conditions at the Crucible for his below par performance.

On top of that, the pockets at the Crucible have been criticised for being too tight, but O’Sullivan told Eurosport: “You have to adapt and Stuart adapted better than me.

“He made the bigger shots, the bigger breaks, the better safety, he was the better player, I just tried to make him fight for it.

“I’ve enjoyed the tournament. For me it’s been a great tournament. I’ve actually started getting through the ball, which is more important than anything really.

“Tournaments, victories, losses are irrelevant really, you just want to be enjoying the game, so for me there’s been a lot of progress.

“I lost a snooker match tonight, Stuart deserved the victory, he played really well. I tried to fight and I hung in there for as long as I could but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

The 48-year-old also discussed his future in the game.

‘The sportsmanship is exemplary from Ronnie’ – McManus praises O’Sullivan for refusing red

Speculation has mounted over how many ranking events the Rocket will play next season, when he might instead play in more lucrative exhibition events.

“Listen, I’ll be playing,” he added. “I’m off to China next week, I’ll be playing Ding [Junhi] in a series of challenge matches, so I’m really looking forward to that. Then I’m off to Finland. I’m really excited.

“I’ve got a lot of snooker left to play. What tournaments I play in will be first come first served. I just want to be happy playing.

“I’m contracted to play in certain [WST] events. I’m contracted to do certain exhibition events in China. They’ll be first so if I’ve got time to fit in some other bits I will.”

Stream top snooker action, including the 2024 World Championship, live and on-demand on discovery+.