Ronnie O'Sullivan deliberately breaks rules as referee forced to intervene

Ronnie O'Sullivan saw his fourth-frame break come to an end during his International Championship clash with Jack Lisowski after deliberately breaking a snooker rule. The Rocket went head-to-head with the 34-year-old in the third round of the tournament but ultimately came up short as he was sent crashing out.

O'Sullivan entered the International Championship as one of the favourites and got off to a dream start as he thrashed Sanderson Lam 6-2 in his opening match. His next encounter proved to be much closer, however, with Lisowski moving to within one frame of victory after taking a 5-3 lead. O'Sullivan won two frames on the bounce to set up a decider, but Lisowski held his nerve to see out the win.

O'Sullivan dazzled in the fourth frame as he hit a century break to level the score at 2-2.

But while he was still amongst the balls, he decided to take both his feet off the ground and rest his body on the table as he stretched to pot the green.

The green ball went in the corner pocket, but the referee called a foul as O'Sullivan glanced at the official and pretended to be surprised.

Snooker rules dictate that at least part of one foot must be touching the floor when a shot is played.

O'Sullivan and Lisowski had previously met four times ahead of the clash, with the 49-year-old winning all of those encounters.

But Lisowski was in inspired form at the South New City National Fitness Center in Nanjing, China, after winning the Northern Ireland Open just over a week earlier.

And after the match, Lisowski explained: "Incredible week. To win a title, that was the focus for about 10 or 15 years. Then to beat Ronnie is a very special achievement for any player. So to have done both of them in a week, I can't believe it.

"I can remember yesterday I won, I was playing alright, I was scoring quite heavy. Because I never look at the draw now. But then it's, 'Ah, you've got Ronnie next.' Part of you just goes, 'Oh.'

"It's kind of in his hands, if he turns up and plays lights out snooker, you're just a witness to the game.

"But yeah, I got 5-3 up, I was feeling pretty good, and then the wheels came off at the end - but I just carried myself over the line.

"I just feel really tired now, it wore me out and I just sort of collapsed over the line. I got lucky when it mattered at the end a few times."