UK Championship: Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out in the quarter-finals at the Barbican
Ronnie O'Sullivan saw his hopes of winning the UK Championship for a fifth time ended in York by Stuart Bingham.
Last Updated: 05/12/13 11:20pm
'The Rocket' found himself 3-1 down at the mid-session interval of the quarter-final clash, including watching his opponent knock in a break of 131.
O'Sullivan responded with a pair of centuries of his own, a 135 in seven-and-a-half minutes closing the gap to 4-2 before he then managed a run of 127 to keep himself in the contest in the ninth frame.
However Bingham got the better of a safety battle in the next to avenge his loss to the same opponent in the recent Champion of Champions final in Coventry.
The world no 10's reward is a clash with either world number one Neil Robertson, the Australian having beaten Stephen Maguire by a 6-2 scoreline.
"I want to congratulate Stuart, he played a fantastic match and he's had another brilliant tournament," a gracious O'Sullivan said afterwards.
"He's an in-form player, a seasoned player now, so you just have to congratulate him on a fantastic performance and I just wish him the best of luck for the rest of the tournament.
"It just shows the character of the guy, he's able to do it under pressure now so all credit to him, and good luck to him."
Englishman Ricky Walden booked his place in the semi-finals with a 6-2 triumph over Mark Allen of Northern Ireland during the evening session.