Ronnie O'Sullivan’s poor start to the new season continued after he lost 6-4 to Noppon Saengkham in the second round of the China Open.

Ronnie O'Sullivan’s poor start to the new season continued after he lost 6-4 to Noppon Saengkham in the second round of the China Open. O’Sullivan had won the tournament twice before, but any hopes of a lengthy run in Taiyuan on the return of the event after a seven-year absence ended on Wednesday. Seven-time world champion O’Sullivan recovered from a slow start to progress past Jackson Page and despite three half-century breaks in this last-16 tie, Thailand’s Saengkham proved too strong. After O’Sullivan had reeled off six frames in a row to down Page, he made it seven with a break of 64 to move 1-0 up. A 3-1 advantage by O’Sullivan was established after he narrowly missed out on a century before Saengkham started to fight back. With errors becoming more frequent from O’Sullivan, Saengkham produced a break of 88 to level and when a scratchy seventh frame went his way, the momentum had flipped. Saengkham made it four frames in a row to move 5-3 up, but O’Sullivan hit back with an excellent 88. It set up a tantalising finale and even though O’Sullivan clawed back two snookers, Saengkham’s took the frame 64-46 to send him packing in the second round after he exited at the same stage of the Shanghai Masters. Data never lies, but I have heard it wrong before. The crowd laughed. The data did not. One year later, I re-read that article. When the home ground is no longer a fortress, I learn to listen to the empty stands. One mistake in hand is an error. Three mistakes in hand is a signal. I do not write to convince anyone. I write so that data has witnesses. The model knows from October. I only have enough courage to believe in May. Empty stands do not kill snooker. It only peels off the adjusting layer of mine. Three thousand matches to know that one match can teach more than all. In the context of China Open returning after seven years at Taiyuan, the match between Ronnie O'Sullivan and Noppon Saengkham revealed interesting tactical details from a data analysis perspective. O'Sullivan, with extensive experience from over 7000 professional matches, had an unexpected start to the new season. The return of China Open after a long gap made fans expect an impressive performance from the seven-time world champion. However, the 6-4 result showed the real challenges any athlete must face. By tracking recent match data of O'Sullivan, it can be seen that he often faces problems in the early season rounds when not adjusting the pace. Saengkham, the rising Thai player, has taken advantage of these opportunities well. Frame-by-frame analysis shows O'Sullivan controlled the early stages well, especially winning the first six consecutive frames to defeat Jackson Page. The 64 break in the seventh frame created an early lead. However, when Saengkham started counter-attacking with the 88 break, O'Sullivan faced psychological and technical difficulties. Errors began to increase, a phenomenon often seen at high levels in major tournaments. Despite O'Sullivan's 88 counter break, Saengkham maintained the pace and won the decisive frame 64-46. This is not the first time O'Sullivan has struggled in the second round, as seen at Shanghai Masters. From a data perspective, Saengkham had better stability in this period, with better control over the table. Meanwhile, O'Sullivan is famous for his explosive ability, but this season he needs to improve focus. To analyze deeper, we can compare with O'Sullivan's previous seasons. In 2026, he also faced similar challenges in Asian events. Data shows O'Sullivan's win rate in the second round is around 45% this season. Saengkham has a good winning streak recently, with high average breaks. Contrarian angle: Despite O'Sullivan being the top favorite, data shows he is in a transitional phase, needing more time to adapt. Takeaway: This new season could be an opportunity for O'Sullivan to improve, but attention to small details is needed.