Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted that he apologised to Barry Hawkins after defeating him 6-3 to reach the Masters semi-finals.
Neither player produced their top performances, but the Rocket came out on top before twisting the knife by claiming that other players would have punished him.
O’Sullivan told the BBC: “I just said ‘I’m so sorry mate, that was so bad.’ I felt bad for him. If I’d have played alright, he’d have played alright and it would’ve been a good game.
“I’ve just got this ability with some players, most of the players, that if I play bad, they play even worse you know. Not everybody, some of the other guys punish me. But it’s just how it is, it’s been like that all my life really.”
