O’Sullivan’s 16-match winning streak ended brutally as Rocket thumped Selby 6-0

RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S 16-match winning run came to a halt after a 6-0 thrashing of Mark Selby in the Players Championship.

It took Selby just an hour and 42 minutes to whitewash Rocket.

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The Leicester star scored breaks of 105, 91, 81, 65 and 59 in the Telford quarter-finals.

O’Sullivan, 48, had missed the Welsh Open and German Masters to care for his mental health.

That came from winning the snooker’s Masters and the UK Championship.

Selby said: “Beating Ronnie is always a big win.

“To beat him the way I did, I’m very happy.

“I hope it acts as a spark for my season. That has proven to me what I should continue to do.

“After that win, I’m looking forward to my chances.”

Earlier in the match the referee was forced to apologize after her blunder saved Ronnie O’Sullivan from forfeiting a frame.

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In the opening frame, and despite being able to see the red lines clearly with the cue ball on the top pad, O’Sullivan made a mistake on his first two shots.

The referee should then have given O’Sullivan a warning that a third miss in a row would result in him gifting Selby the frame.

But she forgot and when O’Sullivan made a mistake for the third time, there was confusion at Telford.

The referee apologized for her mistake and the warning was given before his fourth shot – with both players seemingly agreeing to the spontaneous rule change.

And knowing the pressure was on, O’Sullivan took zero chances when he fired the white into the group of red balls, sending them sprawling across the table.

The seven-time world snooker champion barely waited for the cue ball to come to a stop before marching back to his seat, dressed in his chunky black trainers.

Selby voiced no complaint and simply continued with the opening frame, accepted the honest mistake and continued with the crunch clash.